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Account 

OF 

'ANGOLLE.f 

AND 

U 1/icmttg, 
8s. 6& 



SOME ACCOUNT 



LLANGOLLEN 



its Vicinity; 



INCLUDING A 



CIRCUIT OF ABOUT SEVEN MILES. 



Befcicatefc, &g #er mission, 

TO THE RIGHT HON. LADY ELEANOR BUTLER, AND 
MISS PONSONBY. 



BY W. T. SIMPSON. 






LONDON: 

G. B. WHITTAKER, AVE MARIA LANI 
T. AND W. WOOD, BIRMINGHAM; 

AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. 

1827. 



TO THE 
RIGHT HONOURABLE 

LADY ELEANOR BUTLER, 

AND TO 

MISS PONSONBY, 

THIS ACCOUNT OF 

mmqolUn anfc tt* Vitinitu 

IS, BY PERMISSION, 

v 

MOST HUMBLY DEDICATED. 
BY THEIR MUCH OBLIGED SERVANT, 

THE AUTHOR. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



X ORTUITOUS circumstances having occa- 
sioned me to become an inhabitant of Llan- 
gollen, I was charmed with the beauty of its 
situation; and the political importance in 
which this neighbourhood was formerly held 
prompted me to collect a few notices of its 
local history, which I was advised by some 
of my friends to publish. The conde- 
scending politeness of the Ladies of Plas 
Newydd, in permitting me to dedicate my 
Work to them, encouraged me to proceed; 
and I now venture to present my little Book 
to the Public, earnestly hoping that its defects 
will not be found such as to render it deserving 
of severe criticism, and that it will prove 
generally useful. 

W. T. S. 



CONTENTS. 



^ Page 

Aqueduct of Pontcysyiite 62 

Authorities 195 

Berwyn Mountains 47 

Brynkinallt 33 

Castell Dinas Bran 84 

Chirk Castle 23 

Village 30 

Clawdd Offa, or Offa's Dyke 11, 19 

Conclusion 193 

Dee, River 137 

Glyn Dyfrdwy 145 

La Crucis, or Pillar of Eliseg 129 

Llangollen Town 1 

Church 178 

Bridge 143 

Vicarage 77 

Llantysilio . . 110 

Llys Pengwern 78 

Plas Newydd 188 

Ruabon, or Rhiwabon 12 

Subscribers 197 

Trevor Hall 72 

Valle Crucis Abbey 113 

Wynnstay 14 



&I*tt0OUttl 



ITS VICINITY. 



" Here let me still with simple Nature live, 
My lowly field -flowers on her altar lay; 

Enjoy the blessings that she meant to give, 
And calmly pass my inoffensive day." 



The attraction of North Wales, by 
its romantic scenery, the antiquity 
of its language, and the well authen- 
ticated records of its desperate 
struggle for independence, renders 
every part of the Principality inte- 
resting, and perhaps none more so 
than the beautifully picturesque 
town and neighbourhood of Llangol- 
len, which have deservedly excited 



2 LLANGOLLEN. 

the attention and admiration of a 
vast number of strangers and anti- 
quarians. Nor have the expectations 
of its numerous visitors been disap- 
pointed; for, though the Alps may 
raise their towering summits to a 
greater height — may embosom in 
their dark recesses more ample lakes, 
and give rise to more magnificent 
rivers — yet even they cannot present 
a more pleasing variety of scenery, or 
more picturesque views, than those 
with which Llangollen is surrounded. 

This small market town is on the 
border of North Wales, and is situ- 
ated in that part of the county of 
Denbigh which adjoins Shropshire. 
It is on the south* bank of the river 
Dee, and the mail road from London 
to Holyhead passes through the town. 

* The north side of the river is called "Trevor Ucha," 
i. e. " Upper Trevor" 



LLANGOLLEN. 3 

The distance from London to Llan- 
gollen is about one hundred and 
ninety miles, and from the latter 
place to Holyhead seventy-seven 
miles. 

The town consists of one long 
badly paved street, and a short cross 
one, together with some courts and 
alleys, called squares, but which at 
present ill deserve an appellation 
generally conveying to the mind an 
idea of neatness, if not of superiority, 
as they are for the most part formed 
with obscure mean-looking houses, 
built of the dark-coloured silicious 
stone procured from the rocky bed 
of the river, and from the surrounding 
hills. The houses are seldom more 
than two stories high, and have a 
very sombre appearance, except 
where the owners have had the good 
taste to avail themselves of the lime 

b 2 



4 LLANGOLLEN. 

which is near at hand, in rough-cast- 
ing or plastering the fronts. The 
difference of the appearance of the 
buildings thus finished is so advan- 
tageous that it is to be hoped the plan 
will be generally adopted. 

Increase of population has here 
the effect which is usually attributed 
to it, viz. a manifest improvement in 
the town. The last census states 
the number of houses at 289, and of 
the population at 1287; but the inha- 
bitants may at this time (A.D. 1827) 
be fairly estimated at 1500, and ha- 
bitations in proportion. Among the 
newly-erected houses are some very 
neat buildings, at which private 
lodgings may be obtained, with every 
requisite accommodation. 

Llangollen has a market on Satur- 
day, and five fairs in the year, viz. 



LLANGOLLEN. O 

on the last Friday in January, the 
17th of March, the 31st of May, the 
21st of August, and on the 22d of 
November; at which, horses, horned 
cattle, pigs, butter, cheese, &c. are 
sold. A market house once stood 
where the Hand Gardens now are, 
and is a convenience much wanted. 
Besides the London Mail to Holy- 
head, which passes through Llangol- 
len every afternoon at five o'clock, 
and leaves the letter bags, which it 
takes up again about eight o'clock 
every morning, there are regular stage 
coaches passing to and from London 
and Holyhead every day. Light 
vans, for the conveyance of luggage, 
&c. pass twice a week from Salop. 
There are also waggon conveyances, 
through Wrexham, to Chester; and 
boats on a collateral branch of the 
Ellesmere Canal, which start at 
stated periods for Liverpool, &c. 



6 LLANGOLLEN, 

There are twelve licensed inns 
and public houses in this little town, 
all of them very respectable; and 
whether it is owing to superior ma- 
nagement, or to the excellence of the 
water, which is the most pure ima- 
ginable, and flows abundantly in 
every part of the tow r n, the ale brewed 
in Llangollen is in great and deserved 
repute all over the kingdom. 

Two principal inns and hotels, 
adorn the town — the Hand inn, which 
is in the centre, near the church; 
and the King's Head, at the west end, 
near the bridge. The excellent ac- 
commodations afforded in both of 
them are not surpassed ; they are un- 
der the best regulations, and abound 
with elegance and convenience. 
Post carriages and horses are kept 
at both houses, and the harp resounds 
in their halls. The Viceroys of the 



LLANGOLLEN. 7 

sister kingdom, as well as the no- 
bility, seem to regard Llangollen as 
a favourite resting-place, in passing 
from one country to the other. 

Mountains and hills enclose the 
town on every side. On the south, 
the Berwyn Mountains raise their 
lofty heads. On the north, Castell 
Dinas Bran, vulgarly called Crow 
Castle, seated on its conical summit, 
frowns over the town in ruined gran- 
deur, and is backed with the vast 
and wonderful range of lime-stone, 
which forms a ridge stratum super 
stratum, and is called the Eglwyseg 
Rocks. A portion of these rocks, 
with the little tumulus-like hill of 
Pen y Coed, forms the eastern barrier. 
On the west, the lofty Gerant*, or 



* The Welch have a great readiness in attaching 
names to record ocurrences : thus, the Gerant, which is 
a part of the Berwyn Mountains, is called by them Moel 



8 LLANGOLLEN. 

Moel y Barbwr, with the Bwlch 
Coedd Herddyn, and other distant 
mountains, close the scene. 

The sacred Dee, which here foams 
along its rocky bed, is crossed by a 
stone bridge at the western extremity 
of the town; the church stands in 
the centre; and at the east end is 
Plas Newydd, the residence of the 
two highly respected ladies* whom 
Miss Seward has recorded in song. 

Having thus given a brief sketch 
of Llangollen, embosomed as it is in 
a vale where all the beauties of nature 
seem to concentre, I shall proceed 
to retrace and fill up the outline of 
the picture, by classing under the 



y Barbwr, i. e. Barber Hill, and obtained this appellation 
from the circumstance of a barber, who was an associate 
of a desperate gang of ruffians, having been hanged on 
the summit, for the murder of his wife in the last century. 



LLANGOLLEN. y 

name of each remarkable place its 
description, and the particulars of 
its history, quoting from and referring 
to authorities as I proceed; but as, 
from the varied scenery and the ro- 
mantic views with which this neigh- 
bourhood abounds, an attempt to do 
justice to its several beauties would 
be vain, I shall abstain from endea- 
vouring fully to describe what re- 
quires a more nervous hand than 
mine to paint ; leaving to the reader's 
taste full scope to select the scenes 
most congenial to his disposition, 
assuring him, that whether the dreary 
waste, over whose vast plains sterility 
and barrenness hold eternal sway; 
or the luxuriance of verdant meads 
and shady groves — the sombre haunts 
of secluded retirement; or the soul- 
inspiring gaiety of nature in her 
most lightsome mood — be most in 
unison with his frame of mind, here 

b 3 



10 LLANGOLLEN. 

may be found solace for the melan- 
choly, amusement for the gay, exer- 
cise for the naturalist, and food for 
the antiquarian and philosopher. 

As a commencement of my pro- 
posed tour, I shall now beg my reader 
to accompany me on the north side 
of the Dee, to Clawdd Offa, or Offa's 
Dyke, the ancient boundary of this 
part of the Principality. 



4£!«t»feto #$fl** 



"The best concerted schemes men lay for fame 
Die fast away." 



u O lamentable sight ! at once 

The labours of whole ages lumber down, 
A hideous and misshapen mass of ruin/' 

Offa was the eleventh King of 
Mercia, and succeeded Ethelbald, 
A.D. 757. He was born deaf, lame, 

and blind. About the year 776*, he 
caused a deep ditch and rampire to 
be made across the country, to curb 
the incursions of the Welch, begin- 
ning at the waters of the Dee, at 
Basingwerke Abbey, in Flintshire, to 
the river Wye, in Herefordshire |; 
or, as some say, to the Severn sea. 



* Welch Chron. p. 3. 

t Camden's Britan. p. 623. 



12 RUABON. 

Like the famous wall of China, it is 
carried over rivers, rocks, valleys, 
and mountains, and extends nearly 
one hundred miles*. I intend to 
commence my excursion with this 
ancient Dyke, and pursue it as far as 
is consistent with my plan. It runs 
through the parish of Ruabon, which 
is on the west side. 

ftuafiott, or Mfntoaftott, 

Is a neat pleasant village, about six 
miles east of Llangollen. It is sur- 
rounded by mines of coal, ironstone, 
&c. with which the neighbourhood 
abounds. One of the recently formed 
joint stock companies, denominated 
the British Iron Company, is said to 
have expended on two works in this 
neighbourhood £134,952 1. There 

* Warrington, p. 102. 
t Cort's Letter. 



RUABON. 13 

are also other large ironworks, &c. 
within about two miles of the town. 

The church is dedicated to St. 
Mary, and is a very respectable an- 
cient structure. It has an excellent 
organ, and a pretty font of white mar- 
ble, both given by the late Sir W. W. 
Wynn, Bart, who has left behind him 
a character for beneficence that has 
been rarely if ever equalled. This is 
the burial-place of the highly respec- 
ted family of Wynnstay ; and in the 
church are some ancient monumental 
remembrances, as well as some more 
recently erected ones, of Sir W. W. 
Wynn's ancestors, well worthy in- 
spection. Dr. Powel, from whose 
celebrated translation of the Chroni- 
cle of Caradoc of Lhancarvan I 
have obtained much information, 
was Vicar of Ruabon in 1571, and was 
buried here. The monumental re- 



14 WYNNSTAY. 

cords of Sir W. W. Wynn's family 
are highly panegyrical ; but I cannot 
in this small work give copies of the 
epitaphs, and to record the good 
deeds of this excellent family would 
fill a folio. 

Adjoining the town of Ruabon, a 
road passes into the park, and to the 
mansion, of 

The hereditary estate of the ancient 
and honourable family of Sir Watkyn 
Williams Wynn, Bart. A porter re- 
sides at a small house on the left side 
of the entrance to the park, who 
admits all strangers requesting it. 
A beautiful road leads to the mansion, 
and large herds of deer exhibit their 
graceful forms and agility among the 
surrounding trees. OfFa's Dyke runs 
through the grounds, which are df 



WYNNSTAY. 15 

very great extent, well wooded, 
tastefully laid out, and kept in nice 
order. The house is very extensive, 
and the stables also capacious. The 
premises have acquired their present 
magnitude by various additions made 
at different times by the possessors. 

In the eleventh century it was 
the residence of Madog GryfFydd 
Mailor*, Lord of Bromfield, and of 
Dinas Bran, near Llangollen. It was 
then called Wattstay, from another 
old dyke still visible, named Watt's 
Dyke; and the space between that 
and OfFa's Dyke was a sort of neutral 
territory, on which the Welch and 
Saxons used to traffic with each 
other |. When the noble family of 
the Wynns became its possessors, 

* Camb. Itin, p. 342. 
t Pennant, vol. 1, p. 275. 



16 WYNNSTAY. 

the original name was changed to 
Wynnstay. The house is replete 
with elegance and convenience, and 
is the seat of hospitality as unbounded 
as the benevolence of its owner's 
heart. Under the auspices of the 
late and present noble possessors, 
both the edifice and grounds have 
nearly attained the ne plus ultra of 
perfection; yet at this time a vast 
addition is making to the magnitude 
of the park, by changing the direction 
of the road to Oswestry. In short, 
Wynnstay is one of the most beauti- 
ful seats, not only in Wales, but even 
in the United Kingdom. 

In the park stands a fluted free- 
stone column, erected to the memory 
of the late Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart, 
by his mother, who survived him. 
The elevation, after a design by 
Wyatt, is about one hundred feet, 



WYNNSTAY. 17 

and is surmounted by a bronze urn. 
The base also is of bronze, decorated 
with eagles and oak leaves, and bears 
this inscription: — 

u Filio optimo, mater, eheu ! superstes." 

Which may be thus translated: — 

" A surviving mother, alas! to the best of sons." 

A spiral staircase runs within the 
pillar to the top, from whence is a 
fine view of the park and grounds. 

There are other recently erected 
decorative buildings on the domain; 
one of which, called Waterloo Tower, 
and built to commemorate the glori- 
ous victory obtained at Waterloo by 
the Duke of Wellington, commands 
a very extensive prospect : on it a flag 
is always displayed when Sir Wat- 
kyn is at Wynnstay. Another tower 
is built on a most beautiful spot on 



18 WYNNSTAY. 

the bank of the Dee, called Nant y 
Bellan, i.e. the Dale of the Martin; 
and was erected, as I learn from the 
Oration in the Ellesmere Report, 
p. 24, to the memory of those ancient 
Britons who fell in quelling a dan- 
gerous rebellion in a neighbouring 
island, now more closely united to 
us. Near this place a boat is kept 
for the purpose of crossing the 
river. 

From the old house a road is con- 
tinued on the rampire of OfFa's Dyke 
for nearly two miles, and bears the 
whimsical title of Llwybr y Cath, 
i.e. Cat's Path, although it is wide 
enough for two carriages to pass 
abreast, The ardent and inquisitive 
traveller will find in the interesting 
domain of Wynnstay much to exa- 
mine, much to amuse, and much to 
admire. 



offa's dyke. 19 

Returning through the park to the 
high road, I crossed the Dee over a 
recently erected iron bridge; and 
entering the parish of Chirk, I soon 
regained Ofta's Dyke, the peculiar 
features of which plainly distinguish 
it. The Dyke crosses the road to 
London about two hundred yards to 
the west of Whitehurst's new toll 
gate, and about four miles and a half 
from Llangollen. Pursuing the line 
of the Dyke towards Chirk Castle, 
I found in it a number of large and 
long grey stones, mossed over, and 
lying confusedly at the bottom. 
They are very remarkable, as there 
are no quarries in the neighbourhood, 
from which such stones could be 
procured ; and as they all lay in one 
spot, I conjecture that they have 
been used to mark the graves of the 
slain in the year 1 165, when Henry II. 
made his first expedition against 



20 offa's dyke. 

North Wales, by way of the Berwyn 
Mountains i — "He assembled a large 
army at Oswelt Tree, and detached 
a number of men to try the passes 
into Wales. There was a narrow 
way through the Dyke, near Castell 
Crogen, now Chirk Castle; they 
were set upon by a party of Welch- 
men, as they would have passed this 
strait, and many of them were there 
slain, and buried in that ditch ; where 
(says my Author) their graves are 
now (i.e. 1697) to be seen*." 

The place was called Adwy'r 
Beddau, i.e. Pass of the Graves. 
There is a field or two near the place 
still called Tir a Beddau, i.e. Land, 
or Field of the Dead. I visited this 
place, and found the field under cul- 
tivation; and it is possible that the 

* Wynne's Caradoc, p. 223. 



offa's dyke. 21 

stones may have been removed out 
of the way of the plough, to the 
place where they now lie. On examin- 
ing an old survey of Chirk Lordship, 
I found two or three parcels of land 
lying contiguous to each other, and on 
each side of the Dyke, at this place, 
bearing the same name, Tir y Beddau. 

From this field of the dead I bent 
my way along the Dyke, through 
bramble, bush, and brier, to the no 
small disturbance of its numerous 
inhabitants, the nimble squirrels, the 
rabbits, and the pheasants, springing 
before me every thirty or forty yards. 
At length I arrived at the brink of a 
sheet of water called the pool, on 
which numbers of wild ducks, coots, 
and other aquatic birds were dis- 
porting. The ditch and rampire 
continued through the middle of that 
pool, and the rampire is still trace- 



22 offa's dyke. 

able from the boat house on the op- 
posite side; and running along the 
ley in front of Chirk Castle to a wood 
yard on the west side of it, it again 
deepens, and assumes its form. As 
it approaches the Ceiriog river, which 
skirts the south side of the park, it 
appears indeed a barrier. I took the 
depth a little from the farm or wood 
yard, and found it about fifty feet, a 
little farther on sixty feet, and near its 
termination at Pont Melin y Castell, 
or the Castle Mill, it is about eighty 
feet. At this point there is a bridge 
over the river, up whose banks, at 
about half a mile distance, is a farm 
still retaining the name of Crogen 
Isaf, or Lower Crogen. 

In the bank of limestone rock be- 
low the bridge, and on the side of the 
river, is a cavern or subterraneous pas- 
sage, of unknown extent, and which I 



CHIRK CASTLE. 23 

have not had opportunity to explore. 
Above Crogen Isaf, and near a bridge 
of very capacious span across the 
Ceiriog, called Pont Madoc, a pow- 
der mill was about to be erected ; but 
when the work was nearly completed, 
the projector became unable to pro- 
ceed, and it was discontinued. 

Thinking it best not to break the 
narrative of my progress along the 
ancient Dyke, by which I passed so 
near to the venerable Castle of Chirk, 
I have hitherto purposely omitted an 
account of that celebrated mansion. 
I shall now, however, return to it. 

Writ arastt** 

This noble and ancient pile was 
built on the site of Castell Crogen, 
about the year 1011. I must here 
hazard a conjecture concerning this 



24 CHIRK CASTLE. 

Castle. I am of opinion that the old 
Castle of Crogen was then enlarged 
and repaired, not entirely rebuilt; 
as John Myddleton, who communi- 
cated a paper to the Society of An- 
tiquarians on the subject, says it was 
begun A. D. 1011, and was finished 
in 1013, which makes it only about 
two years, probably too short a 
period for the total re-erection of so 
large an edifice. 

The building is square, and is 
flanked by four massive bastions or 
rounders, one at each corner. There 
is a fifth in the centre of the froftt, 
of the same dimensions as the others. 
The length of the front is about two 
hundred and fifty feet; the square 
court or quadrangle within the walls 
is about one hundred and sixty-five 
feet, by one hundred. The grand 
entrance is under a lofty arched 



CHIRK CASTLE. 25 

gateway; the side entrance is by a 
double flight of stone stairs, through 
a postern and colonnade, into the 
quadrangle. I measured the walls 
of the north-west bastion, and found 
them more than fourteen feet thick, 
and all apparently of solid masonry. 
The whole of this extensive and 
ponderous building is of hewn stone. 

On the west side of the quadrangle 
is the door of the dungeon, which in 
feudal times has been the melancholy 
abode of many hapless victims, who 
fell under their Lord's displeasure. 
There is at the entrance a case or 
hollow in the thickness of the wall, 
for a portcullis; and there are two 
places of confinement, one below the 
other. The first is not formed so far 
below the surface of the earth as 
totally to exclude the light of day; 
it being admitted obliquely from 



26 CHIRK CASTLE. 

above. There is also a fire-place; 
so that it is probable this might be a 
prison for less serious crimes, or for 
delinquents of noble quality. The 
deep dungeon is far below the first, 
the descent to it being by forty-two 
steps; and is said to be as deep as 
the walls are high. It is small and 
circular, and about twelve or fourteen 
yards in circumference. The iron 
doors are now taken away, and one 
of oak is substituted, which bears 
upon it numberless notches, not, like 
those of Sterne's captive, made to 
mark the days of misery, but the 
number of horns of strong ale drank 
at one sitting by a party assembled 
in this place to drink to the health of 
the Lord of the Castle. It is a record 
of the strength of their heads, if not 
of their attachment to their Lord. 
High up in the wall are two iron 
hooks, fixed to support a large 



CHIRK CASTLE. 27 

cheese, which was formerly kept 
here for the entertainment of those 
who chose to visit this gloomy place. 
The sides of the dungeon are partly 
formed of the rock on which the 
Castle is founded, as is also the floor. 

Returning to the light of the sun, 
on the adjoining south side of the 
quadrangle is the servants' hall, in 
which are deposited various ancient 
and family relics. The walls are hung 
round with boar spears, pikes, and 
halberts ; arquebuses, matchlocks, 
and other old fire-arms; saddles, 
spurs, and various pieces of armour; 
enormous and curious spoils of the 
chace, &c. 

Among a variety of deer antlers, 
is the head of a stag, of which the 
following curious story is told: — 
A young woman, crossing the Black 

c2 



28 CHIRK CASTLE. 

Park at the early dawn of morning, 
was assailed by this furious animal. 
Her cries for assistance were heard 
by one of the numerous retainers of 
the Castle, whose dwelling was nigh, 
and he promptly ran to her aid. 
The stag, no way intimidated, made 
fiercely at the man, and literally gored 
him to death. The Black Park is 
now converted into an extensive 
colliery. 

Opposite to the servants' hall is 
the main entrance into the Castle 
from the quadrangle. In the large 
and lofty entrance hall are some fine 
paintings, and a superb billiard table. 
The grand stairs front the entrance, 
and lead to the stately apartments of 
the Castle, which have been lately 
renovated in a superior style of ele- 
gance by Mrs. Biddulph, the present 
inheritor. A saloon, a gallery, and 



CHIRK CASTLE. 29 

a drawing-room, in particular, are 
beautifully finished, and banish from 
the mind the idea of a gloomy Castle, 
which its exterior seems to promise. 

The rooms are enriched with some 
good paintings; and in the saloon 
are some finely executed portraits of 
the family. In this room there is 
a cabinet of most exquisite work- 
manship. The views from the dif- 
ferent windows are inexpressibly 
beautiful, and are said to embrace a 
prospect extending into seventeen 
counties. 

In the civil wars this Castle was 
besieged by Cromwell's adherents, 
and one of its sides, with three of its 
towers, overthrown. It is mentioned 
as a prodigious exertion of labour, 
and in which no cost was spared, 
that the wing was rebuilt in one year, 



30 CHIRK. 

at the expense of eighty thousand 
pounds; which I think strengthens 
my idea of the present Castle being 
only an enlargement and repair of 
the more ancient Castell Crogen. 

About a mile and a half from the 
Castle, stands the pleasant little 
village of 

It is an example of simple neatness 
and good taste. The cottages are 
built in the Swiss style, with singular 
rustic elegance, and have the appear- 
ance of comfort and quiet. The 
inhabitants are mainly indebted for 
the beauty of their rustic cottages to 
the Countess Dungannon of Bryn- 
kinallt, and for the uniformity and 
useful convenience of water in every 
house, which is conveyed by leaden 
pipes, to the exertions and influence 



CHIRK. 31 

of Mrs. Myddelton Biddulph, the 
owner of the Castle, and the elder 
branch of the much-respected family 
of the Myddeltons. She is Lady of 
the Manor of Chirk, and has built 
and endowed a school for the educa- 
tion of the village children. Her 
exertions to promote the comfort 
and interest of her tenantry are 
worthy imitation. 

Near the church, and now enclosed 
in a garden, stands an artificial 
mount, which Mr. Pennant conjec- 
tures to be coeval with Offa's Dyke*. 
A similar one stood on the opposite 
side, where now the road runs. 
These mounts were probably Saxon 
stations, and curbs to the Welch, to 
prevent them from violating the line of 
demarcation which OfFa had formed 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 282. 



32 CHIRK. 

The church is a capacious old 
structure, dedicated to St. Mary, and 
was formerly an impropriation be- 
longinging to the Abbey of Valle 
Crucis. It has a tower steeple, con- 
taining six bells. All the east side 
of the church wall within is nearly 
covered with marble monuments of 
the Chirk Castle family. A bust of 
Sir Thomas Myddelton, and another 
of his Lady, are well executed. 
There are also many other re- 
markable memento mori's within the 
church, well worth the attention of 
those who love to muse on 



" Names once famed, now dubious or forgot, 

And buried midst the wreck of things which were." 



I believe there are not standing 
within the same compass of ground 
in the kingdom of Great Britain, 
three mansions so eminently deserv- 
ing admiration for magnificence, 



BRYNK1NALLT. 33 

grandeur, and beauty, as Wynnstay, 
Chirk Castle, and Brynkinallt ; the 
latter of which I shall now proceed 
to describe. 

iSrpnfctitalit 

Is about one mile from the village of 
Chirk, and is the ancient seat of the 
noble family of the Trevors, as I find 
in an authentic genealogical table, of 
which the following is a short ex- 
tract : — ' ' In the reign of King Richard 
II. there was a noble peer, by name 
Geofry Lord Trevor, and also John 
Trevor, Bishop of St. Asaph, and 
Chancellor of Chester. He continued 
in the bishoprick to the sixth year of 
King Henry IV. And in the reign 
of King Henry VI. (1421) lived two 
brothers descended of this honoura- 
ble family, namely, John and Richard. 
John, the eldest brother, was seated 
at Brynkinallt. He married Agnes, 

c 3 



34 BRYNKINALLT. 

daughter and heiress of Peter Cham- 
bre, of Fool, Esq. by whom he had 
issue five sons, who laid the foun- 
dation of many noble branches. 
Robert, the eldest, succeeded his 
father at Brynkinallt. He married 
Catherine, daughter and heiress of 
Llewellen Ap Howel De Mould, and 
had issue. From Edward, the second 
son, by Amy, daughter of James 
Ryffin, Esq. descended Mark Trevor, 
from whom descended the Viscount 
Dungannon in Ireland." From him 
the nobleman who at present inherits 
the title, and the residence of Bryn- 
kinallt, is a lineal descendant; and 
under his auspices, aided by the ex- 
quisite taste of his Countess, this 
superb edifice has attained the acme 
of beauty. 

To rush at once into this charming 
labyrinth of delight would fill the 



BRYNKINALLT 35 

mind with confusion; and the be- 
holder would be at a loss in what 
direction to commence his observa- 
tions, where every part claims his 
admiration. I therefore beg my 
readers will accompany me about two 
miles on the Oswestry road, to Bryn 
y Gwyla Lodge, a beautiful triumphal 
arch-like entrance into Bryn y Gwyla 
Park, through which a new road is 
now forming to Brynkinallt. This 
part of the domain is in Shropshire ; 
the interesting stream of the Ceriog 
dividing Shropshire from Denbigh- 
shire at this place. 

As you proceed towards the river, 
whose sides are charmingly clothed 
with forest trees, and whose banks 
are fringed with shrubs to the water 
edge, the eye is caught by some of 
the pinnacles of Brynkinallt, and by 
the blue smoke arising from the 



36 BRYNKINALLT. 

mansion, which seems playfully to 
linger among the lofty summits of 
the luxuriant trees that adorn it. 
Proceeding on the highest road, 
called the Green Drive, which runs 
along the top of the Hanging Wood, 
whose majestic and venerable timber 
seems to continue the luxuriant line 
of wavy branches to the very mansion, 
through one of the natural vistas 
which here and there present them- 
selves, Brynkinallt bursts upon the 
sight in all its beauty, embosomed 
in the softened and variously tinted 
foliage of the plantations which 
surround it. From this spot the 
most interesting and picturesque 
view of the place is obtained; and I 
believe it is the point from whence 
an artist of some celebrity has de- 
signed a picture of the mansion. 

At the termination of this drive 



ERYNKINALLT. 37 

the murmuring Ceriog is crossed by 
an ornamental stone bridge, at the 
foot of which, on the bank of the 
river, stands a simple rustic cottage, 
richly clothed with ivy, and formed 
of unhewn pebble stones. At this 
lodge is kept a key of the bridge gate ; 
and a bell attached to the gate 
procures attendance. Crossing the 
bridge into Denbighshire, the elegant 
taste of the inheritor of the place 
begins to display itself. New beau- 
ties appear at every step, as you 
approach the house; pheasants feed 
in numbers on the smooth verdant 
lawn before the windows, and seem 
to give an earnest of the quiet and 
security of the domain. 

This beautiful place is thus men- 
tioned by Mr. Pennant: — ''From 
Chirk (he says) I made an excursion 
to Brynkinallt, about a mile below 



38 BRYNKINALLT. 

the village: this had been the seat of 
the Trevors. The house is of brick, 
built in in 1619*." Nor can I find 
more attention bestowed on this 
charming place by any of the nu- 
merous tourists who have given an 
account of their excursions to the 
public ; and I am at a loss to account 
why this, the most unique and beauti- 
ful spot in the neighbourhood, should 
thus long have escaped attention. 

The house is undoubtedly the work 
of Inigo Jones, and was built on the 
site of a former mansion of brick, 
either in the latter part of the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth, or early in the 
reign of James I. The additions 
made by the present worthy possessor 
are ornamental and useful, and are 
formed so judiciously, and so strictly 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 293. 



BRYNKINALLT. 39 

in character with the old part, as not 
to be distinguished from the original 
design. I should call the style demi- 
gothic; it is now cased over with 
mastic or Roman cement, and has 
all the appearance of well hewn 
stone; and some think it will have 
equal durability. 

The house is formed with a noble 
mansion-like centre, decorated with 
minarets and pinnacles, and flanked 
by two low retiring wings, making 
altogether a very beautiful and orna- 
mental front. The grand entrance is 
through a conservatory and viranda, 
elegantly decorated with choice 
flowers and exotic plants. Over the 
inner entrance door are the arms of 
the Marquis of Wellesley, Viceroy 
of Ireland, emblazoned upon glass, 
occupying the whole width of the 
doorway, and bearing an inscription, 



40 BRYNKINALLT. 

likewise painted on the glass, signi- 
fying that the Marquis presented this 
painted glass as a mark of his esteem 
to his dear friend and relation, Lord 
Viscount Dungannon. The execution 
is good, and does great credit to the 
Irish artist. 

Advancing a few steps into the 
interior, the eye is arrested by the 
brilliancy of the scene which breaks 
upon the sight. Immediately in front, 
through the spacious hall, is a grand 
flight of stairs, terminated by a richly 
stained glass window, and leading to 
a gallery that surrounds the hall, and 
which is decorated with the busts of 
much distinguished and eminent 
persons, as the King, the Duke of 
York, the Duke of Wellington, &c. 
Up the passage to the left hand, the 
view is bounded by the superb dining 
room ; and on the right it terminates 



BRYNKINALLT. 41 

in a charming conservatory, through 
which is a way to the pleasure 
grounds and gardens. From the 
dining room on the extreme left, to 
the conservatory on the right, it is 
about one hundred and sixty feet. 

To particularize or to give an 
adequate idea of the superb and very 
tasteful decorations of every room in 
this elegant mansion is far beyond 
my power of description; and there- 
fore I dare not make the attempt. 
Suffice it to say, that every nook 
seems decorated by the hand of taste, 
guided by the most correct judgment; 
all is elegantly superb, and chastely 
grand. In some of the windows is 
much old painted glass, particularly 
in the library, where there are some 
very excellent specimens. 

Here is also a valuable collection 



42 BRYNKINALLT. 

of china; and in one of the rooms 
are some beautiful vases of that 
fragile material. 

The mansion is adorned through- 
out with valuable pictures by the old 
masters, some of which his Lordship 
selected in Italy. There is a land- 
scape near the fire-place, in the same 
room where the china vases stand, 
painted by Claude Lorraine, which 
is a most beautiful production of that 
great master. In short, 

M Whatever in this worldly state 
Is sweet and pleasing unto living sense, 
Or that may daintiest fantasie aggrate, 
Is poured forth with plentiful dispense, 
And made there to abound with lavish affluence." 

Spencer. 

The beauty and elegance abound- 
ing in this place must be seen to be 
justly appreciated; and the urbanity 
and gentlemanly condescension of 
the noble owner, in affording me the 



BRYNKINALLT. 43 

means of gratifying my inquiries and 
curiosity, will never be effaced from 
my memory. 

In the adjoining shrubbery is an 
ornamental building called the china 
room, fitted up (it would be super- 
fluous to say elegantly) by Lady 
Dungannon. Within the room are 
deposited the most valuable and 
beautiful specimens of old china. 
The walls are covered with plates, 
dishes, &c. in many various figures 
and forms. There is a fire-place in 
the room, and a small portable col- 
lection of books for the amusement 
of a passing hour. In a room 
adjoining is an assemblage of cream- 
coloured pottery, in its greatest 
variety; and behind all, is a cool, 
well arranged dairy. 

To some, and to ladies in parti- 



44 BRYNKINALLT. 

cular, the examination of the china 
room will afford the highest gratifi- 
cation. For myself, I must confess, 
the exquisite specimens of art I had 
just been viewing in the mansion so 
entirely engrossed my mind, that I 
could not look on these later mor- 
ceaus with the attention they merited. 

I have before stated that the river 
Ceriog runs through part of the 
domain; and it is made to contribute 
much to its beauty. It passes through 
a deep and thickly wooded dingle, 
and a rural and shady walk winds 
along the glen to another entrance 
lodge, about half a mile from Chirk. 
The way is enlivened by game 
springing before you at every step, 
and rousing the attention from that 
soothing melancholy which the um- 
brageous solemnity of the walk is 
calculated to inspire. 



BRYNKINALLT. 45 

There are four lodges, or gates of 
entrance into the domain, inhabited 
by some of his Lordship's depend- 
ents. They are all built in an orna- 
mental and romantic style ; but about 
them, though so varied in design, 
there are no disjointed or distorted 
features to offend the most fastidious. 

" And that which all fair work doth much aggrace, 
The art which wrought it all appeareth in no place." 

Spencer. 

Brynkinallt, as well as Chirk, is 
on the English side of Offa's Dyke, 
to which I shall now return on my 
way to the Berwyn Mountains ; ob- 
serving by the bye, that although 
this part of the country is called 
Wales, yet that OfFa's Dyke, made 
in the year 776, cut it off from the 
Principality, and John of Salisbury, 
in his Polycraticon, writeth thus*: — - 

* Camden, p. 623. 



46 BRYNKINALLT. 

"Harold ordained a law, that what 
Welchman soever should be found 
with a weapon on this side the limit 
which he had set them (that is to 
say, Offa's Dyke), he should have 
his right hand cut off by the King's 
officers." So, as Harold II. reigned 
nearly three hundred years after the 
Dyke was cut, it is plain, by this 
law, that it continued to be consi- 
dered the line of demarcation at that 
time; and even to this day the bell 
of vassalage, the curfew, is rung every 
night at Chirk, that is, on the English 
side the Dyke; but is never heard at 
Llangollen, which is on the Welch 
side. This goes far to prove that 
William's English laws reached 
Chirk, and no farther. Leaving the 
Dyke, I now return to the Berwyn 
Mountains. 



MOUNTAINS. 



" Clouds rest on the hills : spirits fly, and travellers 
fear. 

" Where are our chiefs of old? Where our Kings of 
mighty name? The fields of their battle are silent: 
scarce their mossy tombs remain." 



Returning towards Llangollen by 
the old road near Chirk Castle, called 
Oswestry way, the Berwyn Mountains 
begin to raise their lofty summits*. 
These Mountains occupy the eastern 
side of Merionethshire, and branch 
into the counties of Denbigh and 
Montgomery Their southern boun- 
dary is the river Tannant; their 

* Cambr. Trav. Guide, p. 127. 



48 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

northern the Dee. Their length from 
north to south is about sixteen miles ; 
their breadth from east to west vary- 
ing from five to ten miles*. Their 
highest tops are Cader Fronwen, or 
the Whitebreast, and Cader Ferwyn. 
On the summit of the former a large 
quantity of stones, collected from a 
distance, and brought here with much 
labour and difficulty, are cast round 
a stone pillar, marking the burial- 
place of some chief, whose very name 
is now forgotten. 

These Mountains, as I have before 
said, form the southern side of the 
vale of Llangollen; and forming a 
frontier barrier for this part of North 
Wales, they have been the scene of 
many a bloody contest, and on these 
hills the hardy sons of Cambria have 

* Pennant, vol. 2, p. 77. 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 49 

successfully opposed the encroaching 
armies of their Saxon neighbours. I 
trust my readers will excuse me if 1 
relate one of the most interesting 
events of that kind which took place 
on this part of the Berwyn Mountains, 
and within my prescribed limits. 

Henry II. King of England, being 
exasperated by the repeated preda- 
tory incursions of the Welch*, and 
by the advantage they took of rava- 
ging the English territories in his 
frequent absence, and finding that 
no treaties could bind them, resolved 
on his return from Normandy to lead 
an army against Wales ; and having 
assembled a strong body of veteran 
troops, selected from all parts of his 
very extensive dominions in Nor- 
mandy, Flanders, Anjou, Gascoine, 

* Warrington, p. S25. 

D 



50 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

and England*, and hearing of some 
daring inroads made by the North 
Wales men, he early in the year 1165, 
put himself at the head of this chosen 
army, and set forward for North 
Wales, resolving to destroy without 
mercy every living thing he could 
meet with. Having advanced to 
Croes Oswalt, now Oswestry, he 
encamped there, and sent forward a 
body of men to try the passes of the 
Dyke and Ceriog, who being met 
near Castell Crogen, as has been 
before stated, were there defeated, 
and buried in the Dyke. 

It is probable that the victorious 
Welchmen were a party detached 
from the Welch army; for Owen 
Gwynedd, then Prince of Wales, hav- 
ing heard of the great preparations 
made by the King, had very prudently 

* Wynne, p. 190, 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 51 

confederated all the power of the 
country, and had assembled his forces 
at Corwen, a very strong country in 
Edernion, and there awaited the 
King's approach. He had with him, 
besides his brother Cadwalader, and 
all the power of North Whales, Prince 
Rhys, with those of South Wales, 
OwenCyfeeliog and Madog Meredith, 
with the strength of Powis; in short, 
all the forces the Welch could 
muster*. 

The King, finding the Welch so 
strong, and knowing their fickleness, 
stayed some time at Oswestry, in ex- 
pectation that a confederacy so 
hastily formed would as suddenly 
dissolve; but finding them firm and 
determined in their adherence, and 
that his enemies were so near, he 
became desirous to bring on an en- 

* Warrington, p. 326. 

D 2 



52 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

gagement. He therefore moved 
towards the Dyke with his whole 
army, and pushed on a party to the 
Ceriog river, which washes the foot 
of the Berwyn; giving orders that 
the banks should be cleared of the 
woods, which at that time formed a 
complete jungle, to prevent his troops 
falling into the ambuscade of the 
enemy. 

It would seem the Welch had taken 
the precaution to guard the passes 
of the river; for the King in person, 
in an attempt to get possession of a 
bridge, experienced one of those 
hair- breadth escapes which some- 
times decide the fate of kingdoms*: 
— A Welch archer, having marked 
the personal exertions of the King, 
and fired with the hope of freeing his 
country, chose a place of conceal- 

* Wynne, p. 191. 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 53 

ment, from whence, watching his 
opportunity, he discharged an arrow 
with such deadly aim, that it must 
inevitably have slain the King, had 
not Hubert De St. Clair, Constable 
of Colchester, who was in close at- 
tendance, and whose name is deserv- 
edly recorded for his devotion to his 
monarch, seeing the danger, rushed 
into the course of the fatal shaft, and 
received it in his heart; thus termi- 
nating his attachment with his life. 

Whilst Henry was thus employing 
his forces in clearing the banks of 
the Ceriog, a party of Welchmen, 
relying on their knowledge of the 
country, and prompted by patriotic 
zeal, attempted to surprise his van- 
guard, consisting chiefly of pikemen, 
and the flower of the King's army. 
This brought on a very bloody 
engagement, although not general, 



54 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

which cost the lives of many brave 
men on both sides; but the attack 
having been commenced without any 
preconcerted plan, and merely from 
a sudden ebullition of desperate 
daring, Henry's veterans were vic- 
torious, and making good the passage 
of the river, advanced up the Berwyn. 

In the mean time, the Welch 
Princes had advanced with their 
army from Cor wen, and had taken a 
strong position on the frontier ridge. 
A fieldwork and entrenchment are 
still visible on the Mountain, over 
Llangollen, and was probably the 
station of part of the Welch forces, 
under Owen Gwynedd and his 
allies. Henry, finding his formidable 
enemy thus advantageously posted 
on the crown of the hill, did not deem 
it prudent to attack him in this posi- 
tion, and therefore encamped his 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 55 

forces on the lower part of the 
Mountain*. 

In this manner the two armies lay 
menacing each other; the Welch 
carefully improving every opportunity 
of annoyance, and from their lofty 
and advantageous situation watching 
every movement of the King's forces. 
Henry used every means in his 
power to induce them to quit their 
camp, and attack him, but in vain: 
while the Welch, by means of their ir- 
regular adherents, cut off all supplies 
from the English, and reduced them 
to the greatest straits and distress; 
added to which, the rain now fell 
in torrents, and pouring down the 
sides of the Mountain, rendered the 
English station so soft and slippery 
that they were obliged to retreat, 
with great loss in men, horses, and 

* Warrington, p. 327. 



56 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

warlike stores, leaving the Welch 
masters of the field. 

The Welchmen, as might natu- 
rally be expected, exultingly cele- 
brated this triumph; while Henry, 
baffled and disgraced, and with all 
his threats unperformed, gave way to 
rage, and added savage cruelty to his 
disgrace. He at this time held as 
hostages Rhys and Cadwallhon, the 
two sons of Owen Gwynedd; and 
also Cynric and Meredith, the two 
sons of Rhys Ap GryfFydh, of South 
Wales; as likewise the sons and 
daughters of other Welch Lords*. 
In the savage fierceness of his rage, 
he ordered the eyes of these innocent 
victims to be pulled out, and the 
ears of the young gentlewomen to be 
stuffed. 

* Warrington, p. 328. Hoilins's Chron. p. 73. 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 57 

From this digression, for which, 
as pointing out the places where 
these historical facts happened, I 
hope my readers will pardon me, I 
now return to the Oswestry old way, 
which runs near Chirk Castle. 

Not more than sixty years ago, 
this used to be the public high road 
to Oswestry, although the capacious 
and excellent road which now skirts 
the Mountains' base would almost 
induce one to think it impossible. 
A very respectable and old inhabit- 
ant of Llangollen informs me, that 
before the road was altered and 
improved, some of the family from 
Chirk Castle vised to visit Llangollen 
once a year in the family coach. On 
the appointed day, which was ge- 
nerally known beforehand, all the 
inhabitants were on the alert; and 
no sooner was the rumble of the 



58 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

ponderous wheels heard on the 
stones, than young and old, sick and 
lame, poured out of their dwellings 
to see the wonderful phenomenon; 
and during the few hours of its stay 
in the town, it attracted as much 
attention as a show of wild beasts at 
a country fair. On its return to the 
Castle, the young men of the village 
contended for the honour of assisting 
it to get up the hill again; and this 
was the only vehicle of the kind seen 
once a year in Llangollen, where now 
the most splendid and elegant car- 
riages, from the gig to the state- 
coach, roll along, amid these stupen- 
dous rocks and mountains, upon 
roads as smooth, as level, and as 
good, as any in the kingdom. 

The Oswestry old way is not now 
much frequented, but it continues 
from Chirk Castle along the top of 



/ 

/ 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 59 

the Mountain. Many roads intersect 
it, but the old road is very distin- 
guishable. By the side of the way, 
rise two copious springs, called 
Ffynnon Arthur. 

From the eminence the view is 
most extensively delightful, and am- 
ply repays the trouble and fatigue of 
the walk up the Mountain. The 
curious Aqueduct of Pontcysyllte 
forms a very pleasing and prominent 
feature in the foreground of the 
landscape. 

As you approach the descent on 
the side of the hill, the stone pedestal 
of a cross or pillar stands among the 
gorse on the left hand side of the 
road, but the shaft is not to be found. 
Trees, planted three in a clump, 
mark the road at short distances, and 
lead to the cultivated and inhabited 



60 BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 

part of the declivity*. Proceeding to 
the extreme foot of the Mountain, 
on the junction of the Oswestry road 
stood, until these few months, ano- 
ther stone pillar, or cross t, called 
Croes y Beddau; and upon it was 
rudely cut ''Oswestry Way." This 
inscription is of more recent execu- 
tion than the pillar, although it is 
also very antique. 

I conjecture these stones were 
erected as land-marks, and guides to 
the traveller. An ancient way from 
this point proceeded to the river 
Dee, which was then crossed by a 



* These trees were planted immediately after the 
great election for the boroughs of Holt, Ruthin, and 
Denbigh, in which Mr. Myddelton was chosen, to mark 
the way to the Castle of Chirk, for the convenience of 
his constituents coming to share its hospitalities. 

t The ancient pillar and its pedestal now lie by the 
side of the road, near a place called Pen y Bedau, 
about a quarter of a mile from the toll-gate at the east 
end of the town. 



BERWYN MOUNTAINS. 61 

wooden bridge. On the north side 
of the river, nearly opposite the place 
where the wooden bridge stood, was 
another similar pillar, called Croes 
Gwen Hwyfr. It stood on the road 
to Wrexham, and has been removed 
only a few years. From Croes Gwen 
Hwyfr, an old road proceeds to 
Castell Dinas Bran, by the Llanddyn, 
once the residence of the Owens of 
Porkington, but now converted into 
a farm-house. Through that farm 
the^ road passed in a zigzag direction 
to Castell Dinas Bran, and the old 
road is still traceable, although in 
some places quite lost. 

Before I attempt to give an account 
of the ancient castle, I must beg my 
reader's attendance to the Aqueduct, 
which claimed notice in the view 
from the top of the Berwyn Moun- 
tains. 



®ft* §UHMto**t< 



u Telford, who o'er the vale of Cambrian Dee, 
Aloft in air, at giddy height upborne, 
Carried his navigable road, and hung 
High o'er Menai's Straits the bending bridge : 
Structures of more ambitious enterprise 
Than minstrels, in the age of old romance, 
To their own Merlin's magic lore ascribed." 



The Aqueduct of Pontcysylte is so 
called from a bridge of three arches 
over the river Dee, and situated a 
little higher up the river. This is 
the most stupendous work of the 
kind in the kingdom. It was de- 
signed and executed by and under 
the inspection of that British Archi- 
medes, Mr. Thomas Telford, to 
carry a stream of water for the 
supply of the Ellesmere Canal; to 
the proprietors of which, in the year 
1804, Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart, in the 
most liberal manner made an impor- 



AQUEDUCT. 63 

tant donation of the waters of Bala 
pool, as far as wanted ; and to obtain 
that essential advantage the Aque- 
duct was projected*. The level of 
the canal is taken at a place in the 
river a little below the church of 
Lantysilto, and about two miles on 
the west of Llangollen. 

The bank of the canal forms a 
charming promenade of about six 
miles from its junction with the Dee 
to the Aqueduct, abounding with 
interesting and picturesque scenery. 
Here and there snug little white 
cottages, peeping from among the 
surrounding trees, decorate and em- 
bellish the sides and recesses of 
some of the eminences; while the 
tops are dotted with the little moun- 



* Hunt's Letter to the Earl of Bridgewater, in the 
Ellesmere Report. 



64 AQUEDUCT. 

tain sheep, scarcely distinguishable 
from the white stones that are 
scattered upon their summits. The 
banks of the canal are ornamented 
with trees, and embellished with 
bridges, &c. 

This Aqueduct, the most extraor- 
dinary structure of its kind in the 
world, was begun on the twenty-fifth 
day of July, 1795, and was finished 
on the twenty-sixth day of November, 
1805; having been ten years and five 
months in building. It is one 
thousand and seven feet in length, 
and one hundred and twenty-six feet 
eight inches in height from the surface 
of the flat rock on the south side of 
the river Dee, to the top of the iron 
side plates of the water way; and 
there are nineteen arches of forty-five 
feet span each. The piers, eighteen 



AQUEDUCT. 65 

in number, are constructed of square 
masonry, and the arches and water 
way are composed of cast-iron. 

At the south end of the Aqueduct 
there is an embankment of earth, 
fifteen hundred feet in length, and 
seventy-five feet high. The water 
way is eleven feet ten inches broad, 
and five feet three inches deep. 
There is a broad towing-path on the 
east side, guarded by a strong iron 
palisade, running the whole length 
of the Aqueduct; from the north 
end of which the canal is continued 
for a distance of about three hundred 
vards, and there terminates in an 
extensive basin, which affords a 
double wharfage, with iron railways. 

I have heard of only one fatal 
accident occurring during the pro- 
gress of this arduous undertaking; 



66 AQUEDUCT. 

when a poor labourer employed on 
the work fell from the top of one of 
the piers, and was dashed to pieces 
on the rock below. His suffering 
was of short duration, as the tremen- 
dous height from which he fell 
caused instant dissolution. 

The Aqueduct crosses the en- 
trance of the vale of Llangollen from 
north to south, and the walks under 
and about it are really charming. 
The view along the beautiful vale of 
the Dee from the top, in the centre 
of the towing-path, is delightful, and 
to look down tremendous; and the 
river, 

" That on the unnumber'd pebbles idly chafes, 
Cannot J>e heard so high." 

Indeed, it requires a steady head, 
and a stout heart, to walk over the 
Aqueduct, especially when the wind 
is high. 



AQUEDUCT. 67 

On the twenty- sixth day of No- 
vember, 1805, the canal was opened 
in the following manner, as described 
by one of the acting Committee. 
He says* — " In going over the 
Aqueduct and returning, the sensa- 
tions varied. As the procession of 
boats advanced towards the noble 
structure now first commencing its 
public utility, the complete sense of 
security in which we floated one 
hundred and twenty-six feet above 
the river Dee, and a just acknow- 
ledgment to Mr. Telford, to whom it 
was deservedly a proud day, and 
who had most happily arranged the 
whole of our accommodation, as 
well as constructed the wonderful 
edifice that supported us, naturally 
united. 

* Hunt's Lqtter to the Earl of Bridgewater, p. 7. 



68 



AQUEDUCT. 



"On our arrival at the eastern 
bank, we entered the canal port. 
Lady Bridgewater, the ladies of 
Colonel Kynaston Powell, and 
William Lloyd Ashton, Esq. and 
some others, as connected with the 
Committee, now attended Lady 
Eleanor Butler, Lady W. W. Wynn 
and her family, the Hon. Miss Pon- 
sonby, Miss Ormsby, and many 
other respectable visitors, to a re- 
past which had been provided ; soon 
after which an Oration was delivered. 

" On a signal being given, the can- 
non, which had been advantageously 
posted on the platform below the 
rocks, and nearly on a level with the 
Aqueduct, fired a royal salute. The 
guns were manned by the Artillery 
Company, and were some of those 
brought from the capture of Sering- 



AQUEDUCT. 69 

apatam, now belonging to the 
Shropshire Volunteers, whose skill 
and martial appearance added much 
to the brilliancy of the day: they 
saluted the Committee on their 
passage and return with fifteen 
rounds each. After the repast and 
Oration, the whole company pre- 
pared to return. 

"The procession of boats was as 
follows: — In the first and second 
boats, the Committee; in the third, 
the band of the Shropshire Volun- 
teers, in full uniform; the fourth 
was occupied by the engineers, the 
occupiers of mines and founderies, 
&c. with their families. I was in- 
vited to take my passage with them, 
having been engaged when the Com- 
mittee set out, and could from this 
boat, as a centre, better judge of the 
whole. The fifth and sixth boats 



70 AQUEDUCT. 

closed the procession, gaily orna- 
mented with flags, and loaded with 
the first commercial product of coal 
that had ever passed over the valley 
on this noble bridge of union. The 
carriages, which conveyed the rest of 
the company, formed a curved and 
continued line over the bridge of the 
Dee (Pontcysyllte) and on both its 
banks. 

"The evening was calm, and the 
favourite tunes of ' God save the 
King 9 and 'Rule JBritannia' floated 
in the air, amongst the echoes of the 
vale. Many (probably more than 
eight thousand) people were sta- 
tioned all around us, from the tops 
of the mountains to the banks of the 
Dee, and were cheering and exulting, 
with intervals of silent astonishment. 
All within sight or hearing were 
expressing their sense of the general 



AQUEDUCT. 71 

happiness. The whole valley of 
Llangollen might be said to laugh 
and sing." 

The following inscription is on the 
Aqueduct upon the side of the pier 
next to the south side of the river: — 

The Nobility and Gentry of 

The adjacent Counties, 

Having united their Efforts with 

The great commercial Interests of this Country, 

In creating an intercourse and union between 

ENGLAND AND NORTH WALES, 

By a navigable communication of the three Rivers, 

Severn, Dee, and Mersey, 

For the mutual benefit of Agriculture and Trade, 

Caused the first Stone of this Aqueduct of 

PONTCYSYLLTE 

To be laid on the 25th day of July, 1795, 

When Richard Myddelton, of Chirk, Esq. M.P. 

One of the original patrons of the 

ELLESMERE CANAL, 

Was Lord of this Manor, 

And in the reign of our Sovereign 

GEORGE THE THIRD; 

When the Equity of the Laws and 

The security of Property 

Promoted the general Welfare of the Nation; 

While the Arts and Sciences flourished 

By his Patronage, and 
The Conduct of civil Life was improved 
By his Example. - 



?2 TREVOR HALL. 

Returning from this stupendous 
work of human ingenuity and exer- 
tion, towards the Castell Dinas Bran, 

A large brick mansion, presents 
itself. It is situated on a rising 
ground, on the north side of the 
Wrexham road; and was once the 
residence of John Trevor, Bishop of 
St. Asaph, who in the year 1346 
caused a stone bridge to be built 
over the Dee, at Llangollen, which 
is accounted one of the wonders of 
Wales. 

Mr. Pennant says* " Trevor Hall 
passed into the family of the Lloyds, 
and has continued in that family to 
the present time." The last pos- 
sessor was a lady of the name of 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 294. 



TREVOR HALL. 73 

Thomas, deceased in the last year, 
and leaving a son to inherit, although 
at present he does not occupy the 
premises. The house is roomy and 
substantial, and is pleasantly situ- 
ated; but has no pretensions to 
elegance or beauty. Near the house 
is a church, or rather chapel, of ease, 
enjoying Queen Anne's bounty, in 
which English service is performed 
on the first Sunday in every month. 

In a rocky cliff in the neighbour- 
hood of the Hall, is a cavern of some 
extent, in which I was informed 
there were to be found the petrified 
bones of wolves, foxes, and other 
wild animals. Resolving to ascertain 
the fact, I explored the place, but, 
whatever there may have been, I 
could not discover the vestiges of 
any such relics. I brought away 
some specimens of stalactites, of 

* L 



74 TREVOR HALL. 

curious forms and various incrusta- 
tions, with which the roof of the 
cavern abounds, and which may by 
some have been mistaken for petrified 
bony substances. This craggy ridge 
seems to be the commencement of 
that wonderful range of limestone 
called the Eglwyseg Rocks. 

Near to the river is the ancient 
house of Plas yn Pentre, now inha- 
bited by Mr. Edward Jones; and 
between Trevor Hall and the Dee is 
one of the most beautifully clear 
springs of cold water imaginable. 
It is called Ffynnon Yryrog, and is 
in very great repute as a bath for the 
cure of rheumatic affections; and if 
Saint Collen with a long name* had 
thought proper to have bestowed his 
benediction, it might perhaps have 

* See " Llangollen Church", in this book. 



TREVOR HALL. 75 

rivalled its prototype at Holywell. 
Its issue is very abundant, and its 
coldness exceeds belief: persons 
bathing cannot continue in the water 
a minute. Many wonderful accounts 
are told of its efficacy in chronic 
disorders. In its passage to the Dee, 
it formerly turned a water mill, now 
in ruins. The spring rises in a field 
belonging to Plas yn Pentre. 

On the road side, between Trevor 
Hall and Bron Heulog, is a small 
farm house, called Plas Eva or Evan. 
I notice it only as marking the spot 
where formerly was a cemetery, re- 
taining the appellation of Mynwent y 
Quacer, or Quaker's Burying Ground. 
It is on the south side of the house; 
and in cutting the canal, the earth 
from the excavation was thrown upon 
the old graves and the inscribed 
stones that lay upon the surface. 

e 2 



76 TREVOR HALL. 

Opposite the north side of the 
same house, a few years ago, as some 
labourers were working in the lime- 
stone rock, they discovered a pot, 
filled with gold coin. The men, 
afraid of losing their booty, kept the 
affair secret, and deputed one of 
their party to dispose of the treasure 
at Chester, as old gold. A rumour 
of the circumstance having got afloat, 
an inquiry was instituted; but the 
secret was so well kept on all hands, 
that only one piece, which a labourer 
had kept as a curiosity, with a part 
of the earthen vessel that contained 
them, were recovered, both of which 
I am informed are now in the posses- 
sion of Lady Clive. The name, date, 
or nominal value of the coin, I cannot 
ascertain; but a person who saw one 
of the pieces describes it as being 
about the sizeof a half crown,and very 
thin, with an impression on each side. 



THE VICARAGE. 77 

About a mile nearer to the Castle, 
stands a recently erected mansion, 
called Bron Heulog. It is only re- 
markable for the narrowness of its 
windows and the nakedness of its 
appearance. Nearing the town on 
the bank of the river, 

A neat pretty edifice, claims notice. 
It was built a few years ago, under 
the direction of the present vicar, 
the Rev. R. W. Eyton, who resides 
here, and is in the commission of the 
peace. In both capacities he does 
honour to the country in which he 
lives, as an able conscientious mi- 
nister, and an impartial and upright 
magistrate. 

Having thus given an account of 
some of the most remarkable features 
of the country within my limits on 



78 LLYS PENGWERN. 

the north side of the river, and 

on the east end of the town, I beg 

my readers to cross the river with 

me to Pengwern Hall, situated on the 

south of the Dee, with which I shall 

conclude my account of residences 

on the east of the town, as it is not 

in my plan to notice the many pretty 

snug and pleasant looking retreats 

with which the delightful landscape 

is studded, the beauty and comfort 

of which the traveller of taste will 

not fail fully to appreciate. Nor 

have I much to say of 

nigs \%en$wem; 

For mouldering time hath sw r ept away 
much of its grandeur and its form. 

Llys, i.e. Palace or Prince's Court, 
of Pengwern, is situated at the foot 
of Pen y Coed, a tumulus-like hill on 
the east side of Llangollen, in a well 



LLYS PENGWERN. 79 

cultivated and fruitful valley, formed 
between, or rather of, the bases of 
Pen y Coed, and the Berwyn. Little 
remains of the old house. There are 
two vaulted rooms (the use of which 
I cannot conjecture) standing at the 
end of the present house; and they 
are, I think, part of the old palace. 
The roofs are formed with nine stone 
ribs, which support a stone floor; 
for the rooms are one above the 
other, and the little light admitted is 
through narrow loop-hole windows. 
There is no vault or cellar beneath 
them. The site is extensive, and 
many old pointed gothic windows 
appear about the dilapidated walls. 

The place is now in the occupation 
of a very respectable farmer. Sir 
Thomas Mostyn, Bart, is the propri- 
etor, in whose family it has been a 
great many years. I find that 



80 LLYS PENGWEKN. 

" Tudor Trevor*, who in the British 
genealogies is reckoned to be lineally 
descended from Vortigern, that un- 
fortunate King of the Britons, who 
first invited the Saxons over into his 
country, married Gwladdis (some 
call her Angharad), daughter of 
Howell Dda, King of all Wales, by 
whom he had issue three sons ; from 
the eldest of whom, Llwydocca, this 
family of Mostyn is descended in a 
direct male line. Tudor Trevor lived 
about A.D. 924, and his usual resi- 
dence was at Llys Pengwern, in 
Chirkland, in Denbighsire; which 
site, and lands about it (though the 
house has been long destroyed), is in 
the possesion of the family to this 
day." 

There is a stone which seems to have 

* English Baronetage, vol, 2, p. 114, printed 1727. 



LLYS PENGWERN. 81 

belonged to the old Llys, wrought 
up in the door- way, with an inscrip- 
tion which I cannot decipher. The 
design seems a rude figure of a sword, 
with an obtuse point, and the letters 
cut in relief on the blade. They are 
many of them unlike the characters 
I have seen, although some of them 
bear a strong resemblance to the 
Roman, and some few to the Saxon. 
The hilt of the sword, on which 
was the beginning of the inscription, 
is wanting. This is the only inscribed 
stone I could discover on the pre- 
mises, although I was civilly assisted 
in my researches by the occupier of 
the house. From the appearance of 
many of the windows, &c. I should 
almost suppose it the remains of a 
religious sanctuary. 

Returning to the north side of the 
Dee, I must notice a small factory, 

e 3 



82 LLYS PENGWERN. 

where cotton is spun and manu- 
factured into cloth by machinery. 
It was erected by a Mr. Turner. 
The main wheel is worked by a 
partial diversion of the river. It has 
also a claim upon the Ellesmere 
Canal for a supply of water, and 
affords employment for many of the 
inhabitants. The builder and his 
partner unfortunately proving in- 
solvent, the concern was for a while 
stopped, and the factory stood unoc- 
cupied about five years. It is now 
carried on by a very respectable 
firm from Manchester, and is a great 
benefit to the town. The factory was 
destroyed by fire in 1814, but being 
fully insured it was soon rebuilt. By 
means of an outlet from the mill dam, 
a great quantity of fine trout and 
salmon are caught here in the season. 

I shall now proceed to give some 



LLYS PENGWERN. 83 

account of Castell Dinas Bran, to 
which I had before conducted my 
readers by the ancient road from the 
Berwyn Mountains and Castell 
Crogen, or Chick Castle. 



DINAS BRAN. 



"Desolate is the dwelling of Morna: silence is in the 
house of her fathers. The voice of the people is heard 
no more. The stream of Cultha is removed from its 
place by the fall of its walls. Raise the song of mourning, 
O bards !" 



The Castell Dinas Bran, vulgarly 
called Crow Castle, is one of the 
primitive Welch Castles. I shall 
not bewilder myself or my readers, 
by seeking for the origin of its name, 
which so many learned men have 
sought in vain; all their researches 
ending in conjecture: nor can I find 
any account to be relied upon, when 
or by whom it was erected. 

The Castle stands, as hath before 
been shown, immediately above and 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 85 

on the north side of Llangollen, 
on a conical mountain, about six 
hundred yards above the level of the 
river Dee*; and is built on the 
summit of the hill, which probably 
was leveled to procure materials, as 
the building occupies the whole flat. 
It seems to have been about one 
hundred yards in length, by fifty 
yards wide. The present remains 
are almost without form: they are 
built of the silicious stone of the 
mountain, set in a coarse mortar or 
grout, which is grown as hard as the 
stone itself. There are here and 
there scattered remains of hewn 
stone for facings, &c. some vestiges 
of a small round tower and a vaulted 
passage, and also a very limpid 
stream, now almost choked with 
ruins. 

* CooJke's Brit. Trav. p. 111. 



86 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

A room has been built within these 
few years, for the shelter and conve- 
nience of visitors to the Castle; the 
key of which may be obtained at a 
little white cottage half way up the 
hill, inhabited by a very civil woman 
of the name of Parry, who conducts 
the visitants, and provides them with 
tea if required. 

The Castle is conjectured to have 
been built by the Britons before the 
Roman invasion; and was probably 
the residence of Eliseg in the year 
600*. In the absence of all authentic 
accounts, I present my readers with 
a free translation of what I conceive 
to be a legendary tale, hoping it will 
at least amuse. 

I find in the fragment of an old 

* Pennant, vol, 1, p, 401. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 87 

Welch book (from which the title- 
page is lost), obligingly lent to me 
by Mr, Edward Morris, of Rhiscog, 
to whom I am indebted for much 
valuable information, the following 
account of the building of Castell 
Dinas Bran: — 

"The Duke of Difnal, or Cornwall, 
having conquered all his enemies, 
was crowned King, and reigned in 
peace forty years, leaving at his 
death his kingdom to his two sons, 
who were twins ; Beli was the first- 
born, Bran was the youngest. They 
began to reign Anno Mundi 3600, 
but contentions soon arising between 
them, they appealed to arms, and 
called their friends and adherents 
to the field; and, notwithstanding 
the persuasions and remonstrances 
of the chiefs and great men of the 



88 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

country, a day was appointed for the 
decision of their claims by arms. 

"In the meanwhile, their mother, 
the old Queen Corwena, obtained an 
interview with her sons in her own 
apartments; when, placing herself 
between them, she fell on her knees, 
her grey hair disheveled, and her 
bosom bare, and thus addressed 
them: — 'O! my dear sons, look on 
your mother, and for her sake forbear 
to shed the blood of your friends; 
remember, it is the Queen who 
solicits you to peace and unity; and 
remember also that the blood of 
those brave men who fall in this 
quarrel will cry for vengeance, and a 
life for a life, and a tooth for a tooth, 
will be required. Consider, you 
once lived together in peace upon 
this bosom, and now this great 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 89 

kingdom is too small for you. For 
God's sake, and as you value my 
blessing, cast away this fierce wrath ; 
be not more cruel than the wolves of 
your forests, and the bears of your 
woods. See how my tears fall upon 
those breasts where you were wont 
to be cherished together. Do not 
let me go to my dark house in sorrow. 
Throw down your arms, and embrace 
each other as brothers, that God 
may bless the end of your days with 
peace and prosperity, and crown 
your wives and your children with 
comfort and joy. Amen.' 

"The two brothers were so affected 
by this address from their mother, 
that they both assisted to raise her 
from her knees, and intreated her 
blessing. They then embraced, and 
drinking to their mother and to each 
other, dismissed their armies. Beli 



90 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

went to New Troy*, and Bran took 
up his residence at a strong fortress, 
which he had built near Llan-collenf , 
and called Dinas Bran, after his own 
name. 

"The Queen, returning to the 
portion of land which had been given 
to her as a jointure, there built a 
small town, which she named after 
herself, Corwen." 

The following seems to be another 
version of the same story ; and as the 
Brut from which it is taken is by the 
learned translator supposed to be the 
real Book of GildasJ, I hope the 
antiquity and rarity of the account 

* London, so called by Camden and the Brut. 

t See Llangollen Church, dedicated to St. Collen. 

$ See the Brut, or Chronicle of the Kings of Britain , 
in vol. 1 of Collectanea Cambrica, by the Rev. P. 
Roberts, A.M. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 91 

will be a sufficient excuse to my 
general readers : — 

"Beli and Bran were the sons of 
Dyfnwal, and began to reign 667 
years before Christ*. A violent 
struggle arose for the sovereignty of 
the kingdom, which ended in it being 
divided between them: however, in 
process of time, ambition again 
prompted the two brothers to collect 
their respective forces, in order to 
obtain supremacy ; but when the two 
armies were about to engage, their 
mother, the old Queen Torwen, or 
Tarevin, rushed between the lines, 
and hastening to her son Bran, who 
had long been absent from her, she 
tenderly embraced him, and with 
many sighs and tears intreated him 
to be reconciled to his brother Beli. 

* Chron. of the Kings of Britain, p. 49. 



92 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

Her intreaties so wrought upon Bran 
that he turned all his thoughts to 
peace, and laying aside his helmet, 
he went unarmed to meet his brother. 
A reconciliation then took place, 
the forces on each side throwing 
down their arms, and approving the 
peace; and both parties went toge- 
ther to London, at that time called 
Troia Newdd*. 

As Eliseg's Pillar has given a 
name to a fertile valley, to a township, 
and to the wonderful and stupendous 
Egwlseg Rocks, and which they all 
retain to this day, I presume to ask, 
is it not as reasonable to suppose, 
since we find it recorded that there 
was a British King of the name of 
Bran, that the name of the Castle I 



* Brut, p. 30. Camden. Gildas wrote A.D. 560} 
Geoffrey of Monmouth, 1070. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 93 

am describing should have been de- 
rived from him, rather than from a 
paltry stream bearing the name of 
Bran, or from an insignificant bird; 
for Bran in the Welch language 
signifies Crow. Might not, also, the 
streamlet of the Bran take its name 
from the city of Bran? for I find 
in Richards's Welch Dictionary, 
" Dinas" English "City;" therefore, 
"Castell Dinas Bran" i.e. "The 
Castle of the City of Ttran;" "Din" 
"a fortified city or mount" as Din- 
brin, which adjoins the Castle Hill. 
Should these hints, which with all 
deference I venture to suggest, invite 
others to a deeper and more suc- 
cessful research, I shall be happy; 
and I sincerely wish some one may 
prosecute further inquiry, furnished 
with more ample materials, and 
endowed with a superior degree of 
antiquarian knowledge. 



94 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

Leaving apocryphal accounts, I 
find that Madog Ap Gryffydd Mae- 
lor, who founded the Abbey Crucis 
A.D. 1200, and who was by his mo- 
ther's side the grandson of Gwen 
Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, 
resided at Castell Dinas Bran*. He 
inherited Powis Madoc, and was 
Lord of the second Bromfeild and 
Mochnant Is Rhauadert- 

In the year 1209, Madog, forgetting 
his duty to his country and to his 
prince, led his vassals and adherents 
to join the English army under King 
John, then lying at Oswestry J 
(Wynne says at Chester §); where he 
had assembled a great force, and 
with his usual violence and passion 
had resolved to execute the severest 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 395. t Warrington, p. 345. 
t Warrington, p, 359. § Wynne, p. 229. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 95 

vengeance on the inhabitants of 
North Wales, and not to suffer a 
person to remain alive in the country. 
But such resolves are sooner made 
than executed; and Llewellyn, 
Prince of Wales, no sooner heard of 
these mighty preparations, and of 
the disaffection of some of his own 
countrymen, particularly of the Lord 
of Dinas Bran, than he issued his 
orders to his subjects in the counties 
of Denbigh and Flint, to remove all 
their cattle and moveable substance 
for a season, to the mountains of 
Snowdon; by which means, and by 
getting into the rear of the King's 
army, now advanced as far as the 
Castle of Teganwy, he so straitened 
and harassed the English forces, that, 
after eating their horses, and being 
reduced to the greatest extremity, 
they were obliged to retrace their 
steps at that time in disgrace, and 



96 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

breathing revenge, which the King 
in some measure executed the next 
year*. But as I mean to confine 
myself to the history of the Lords of 
Dinas Bran, I will not deviate from 
my plan, by noticing matter which 
may be deemed extraneous. 

When John by his maladministra- 
tion had quarrelled with his great 
Barons, and thrown England into 
confusion, the vaccillating Madog, 
Lord of Dinas Bran, again swore 
fealty to his lawful Prince, Llewellyn, 
who politically overlooked his disaf- 
fection, and accepted his submission. 
This and some other accession of 
force enabled the Welch Prince 
successfully to assail the English, 
from whom he took all the castles 
the King had garrisoned, and most 

* Wynne, p. 230. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 97 

cruelly and unjustly put to death all 
their defenders in cold blood. This 
happened A.D. 1213*. The re- 
mainder of the time of this factious 
man, Madog, was occupied in rapine, 
war, and slaughter; and he closed 
his turbulent life in Castell Dinas 
Bran, and was buried at his Abbey 
of Llan Egwest, or Valle Crucis, 
A.D. 1236|, leaving his son Lord of 
Powis Fadog, Lord of Dinas Bran, 
and all his other signiorities. 

Gryffydd Ap Madog, like his 
father, partook of the character of 
the times, and was fickle and turbu- 
lent. His father, Madog Ap Gryffydd 
Maelor, had generally resided at 
Wattstay, now Wynnstay; but 
Gryffydd Ap Madog made the 

* Warrington, p, 363. 
t Wynne p. 257. Warrington, p. 398. 

F 



98 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

Castell Dinas Bran his chief resi- 
dence, and it is probable that his 
confidence in this almost inaccessible 
retreat might strengthen and encou- 
rage him in his waywardness. 

I find him joining Prince Edward, 
the son of Henry III. then King of 
England, with all his forces, in the 
year 1257; and his disaffection is 
thus stigmatized by the old writers*: — 
"But Gryffydd Ap Madog Maelor, 
Lord of Dinas Bran, a person of 
notorious reputation for injustice 
and oppression, basely forsook the 
Welch, his countrymen, and with all 
his forces went over to the Earl of 
Chester|. 

The following year, Llewellyn the 



* Wynne, p. 273. 
t Wynne, p. 274, 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 99 

Prince, returning from an expedition 
into South Wales, met the Earl, and 
forced him to retreat with great 
precipitation, leaving the possessions 
of his unnatural allies at the mercy 
of the conqueror, who now resolved 
to be revenged on that ungrateful 
fugitive, the Lord of Dinas Bran. 
He therefore passed through Brom- 
feild, and miserably laid waste the 
whole country, and obliged GryfFydd 
to keep close in his Castle of Dinas 
Bran, which, being situated on the 
summit of a very steep hill, seemed 
impregnable to all the daring efforts 
that could be used against it*. 

King Henry, being now much 
incensed against the Welch Prince 
Llewellyn, on account of the obsti- 
nate resistance he experienced, and 

* Wynne, p. 180. 

F 2 



100 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

having drawn together the whole 

strength of England, even from St. 

Michael's Mount, in Cornwall, to the 

river Tweed, marched with his son 

Edward in great rage to North 

Wales, and without any opposition 

advanced as far as Teganwy; but 

Llewellyn having taken precaution, 

as was the practice of the Welch in 

cases of invasion, to have all manner 

of provision and forage carried over 

the river, and having secured the 

strait and narrow passages whereby 

the English might advance into the 

country, the King's troops were in a 

short time so mortally harassed and 

fatigued, that they were obliged to 

return to England in haste, and with 

great loss. 

Gryffydd Ap Madog, finding King 
Henry unable to protect his estate, 
submitted to his rightful Prince; 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 101 

and Llewellyn then passed to Powis, 
and banished Gryffydd Ap Gwen- 
wynwyn, who had also joined the 
English, and took all the lands in 
the country of Powis into his own 
hands. 

Llewellyn, who was a politic prince, 
received the submission of the Lord 
of Dinas Bran, because he knew that 
inaccessible fortress could not be 
forced from him, and that it would 
not be safe to have an avowed enemy, 
with so strong a refuge for his dis- 
affected subjects, in the rear of his 
operations; otherwise Gryffydd Ap 
Madog had merited banishment as 
much as his namesake of Powisland : 
nay, Gryffydd, Lord of Dinas Bran, 
married an English lady*, Emma, 
daughter of Lord Audley, whose 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 216. 



102 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

father did much mischief and hurt to 
theWelch, by bringing from Germany 
a body of horsemen, who, by the un- 
common size of their horses, and 
their unusual manner of fighting, 
terrified and easily defeated the 
Welchmen at the first; but when 
they had become more familiarized 
with their mode, they took their 
revenge upon them, even on Lord 
Audley's own land*. 

All the nobility of Wales had 
solemnly sworn to defend their 
country till death against the invasion 
of the English, and not to relinquish 
or forsake one another; and the 
return of GryfFydd Ap Madog to his 
allegiance diffused through every 
breast the hope of better daysf. 



* Wynne, p. 275. 
t Warrington, p. 440. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 103 

From this time to the day of his 
death, I do not find that he again 
deserted his Prince, but attached 
himself to the fortunes of his coun- 
try, although fears of the resentment 
of his countrymen for his former 
conduct made him keep close to his 
Castle of Dinas Bran, where he died 
m 1270*, and was buried by the side 
of his father in the Abbey Church of 
Valle Crucis ; leaving his country in 
the enjoyment of freedom and peace; 
the Welch having, by innate bravery 
and constancy, aided by the fast- 
nesses of their country, and the good 
policy of their Prince, freed them- 
selves for a time from the thraldom 
of their potent enemy. 

Mr. Pennant gives a different ac- 
count of his end|. He says that 

* Warrington, p. 458, 
t Pennant, vol. 1, p. 216. 



104 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

" his wife Emma, having alienated 
his affection from his own country, 
made him an instrument of its sub- 
jection, and of the destruction of his 
own family; for, as he took part 
with Henry III. and Edward I. 
against his natural Prince, the re- 
sentment of his countrymen was 
excited against him, and he was 
obliged to shelter himself from their 
rage in his Castle of Dinas Bran, 
where probably shame and grief put 
an end to his life." 

Be that as it may, Gryffydd Ap 
Madog, by his wife Emma, daughter 
of John, Lord Audley, left issue 
four sons, viz. Madog, Llewellyn, 
Gryffydd, and Owen*. Madog, the 
eldest, became Lord of Dinas Bran 
&c. He died, it is supposed, not 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 217. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 105 

long after his father, leaving two 
sons to inherit his property*. The 
eldest, called Madog, had, by his 
father's will, Bromfeild and Yale, the 
Castell Dinas Bran, &c; the second 
son, Llewellyn, the Lordship of 
Chirk, &c. It should seem these 
children were not of age when their 
father died; for Edward I. King of 
England, took on him to appoint 
guardians to them both, and com- 
mitted Madog, the elder, to the care 
of John, Earl of Warren, one of his 
favorites; and Llewellyn he in- 
trusted to Roger Mortimer, son of 
Lord Mortimer, of Wigmoref. 
These men well understood the 
nature of the appointment; and it is 
probable that Edward had maturely 
weighed in his mind the potency of 

* Wynne, p. 181. 

t Pennant, vol. 1, p. 217. 

f3 



106 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

their enmity, who could be such 
powerful friends, and having then 
but recently subjugated the country, 
he might wish out of his way two 
scions of a stock which had proved 
so stubborn and so valiant. It was 
well known that Warren and Mor- 
timer had rid themselves of their 
respective charges, and had pos- 
sessed themselves of their estates, 
which they were suffered to enjoy 
without an inquiry being instituted 
respecting them, or about the disap- 
pearance of their wards; but the 
manner of the murder of these two 
unfortunate children has but lately 
been discovered, in a manuscript in 
the Bodleian Library*. The guar- 
dian of the two boys caused them 
to be drowned under Holt Bridge; 
and no doubt from hence arose the 

* Pennant, vol. 1. p. 217. 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 107 

origin of a fable which was long cur- 
rent in the country, of two fairies 
having been drowned in that place. 

From the Earls of Warren the 
Castell Dinas Bran passed to the 
Arundel* and other families. In 
1390, Myfanuy Fechan, a descendant 
of the house of Tudor, resided there, 
and was celebrated for her beauty in 
a long ode by Howel Ap Einion 
Lygliw, a celebrated bard of that 
time. The Castle was probably 
then held under the Earls of Arun- 
del. It is now the property of Mrs. 
Myddelton Biddulph, of Chirk Cas- 
tle. The period of its destruction 
is as completely unknown as the 
time of its foundation. Eagles and 
hawks in abundance used to breed, 

* Camden's Brit, p. 304. 



108 CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 

as some now do, in the neighbouring 
rocky ridge of the Eglwyseg, and 

u Along the narrow valley you might see 

The wild deer sporting on the meadow ground, 
And here and there a solitary tree, 

Or mossy stone, or rock with woodbine crown'd. 
Oft did the cliffs reverberate the sound 

Of parted fragments tumbling from on high, 
And from the summit of that craggy mound 

The perching eagle oft was heard to cry, 
Or on resounding wing to shoot athwart the sky." 

The view from the Castle is not 
so extensive as might be expected 
from its elevation, being bounded, 
except towards the east, by more 
lofty mountains; yet the scenery is 
most truly grand and magnificent. 
According to the plan laid down in 
the beginning of this work, I leave 
my readers to their own observations ; 
only informing them that the house 
which makes a distinguished figure 
to the westward is Dinbrin Hall, the 
residence of Richard Jones, Esq- 



CASTELL DINAS BRAN. 109 

Descending on the west side of 
the hill, and proceeding on the old 
way to the Abbey Crucis, stands 
a neat house, called the Twr, i.e. 
Tower, which I conjecture, for I can 
obtain no written document on the 
subject, to have been a look-out or 
watch-tower belonging to the Castle ; 
especially as it is placed on the side 
most easy of access. Some additions 
have been made to the Tower, and 
it is now a comfortable farm-house, 
inhabited by a very respectable lady, 
of the name of Price. It has been a 
square building, built of hewn stone, 
as evinced by the massive walls 
which now surround the old part 
converted into a parlour, and by an 
old spiral stone stair at the back of 
the room. 

The old way from the Castle to 
the Abbey has been much intersected 



110 JLLANTYSILIO. 

and crossed, especially by the branch 
of the Ellesmere Canal, and by roads 
made to recently erected retreats 
and farms ; among which I must not, 
however, reckon the road to 

mantgatito, 

Which is a place of great antiquity. 
It belonged of old time to the an- 
cient family of the Cuppers of the 
North*, so called even in the time 
of King Henry II.; and by the mar- 
riage of a daughter of that family 
with a Mr. Jones, of Llanbothian, in 
Montgomeryshire, it became the 
heritage of the late possessor of that 
name, and is now inhabited by Ma- 
jor Harrison, who resides in the 
Hall, a large brick building, bearing 



* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 324. A gentleman who knows 
the fact says, however, that it came to the Cuppers 
recently, through an intermarriage with a Miss Davies ; 
and that Mr, Pennant was wrong informed. 



LLANTYSILIO. Ill 

a strong affinity to Trevor Hall in 
antiquity of erection. It is situated 
in a pleasant valley, watered by the 
river Dee, over which it enjoys a 
fine prospect. 

The Church of Llantysilio is dedi- 
cated to a Welch saint, from whom 
the township takes its name. He 
was Prince of Powis, and was called 
St. Tysilio. It is a neat little edi- 
fice, with a very pleasant church- 
yard, and contains nothing very 
ancient in the monumental way; but 
there are around it many very ve- 
nerable yew trees, with their wide 
spreading sombre foliage. I had 
the curiosity to measure one, and 
found it above twenty feet in girth. 
The inside of the Church is, like its 
neighbour at Llangollen, indebted 
for some of its decorations to the 
Abbey Crucis, which seems after its 



112 LLANTYSILIO. 

dissolution to have been considered 
as lawful plunder; and this circum- 
stance in some measure accounts for 
its so speedy dilapidation. English 
service is performed in the Church 
of Llantysilio on the third Sunday 
in every month. 



ABBEY. 



" How many hearts have here grown cold, 

That sleep these mouldering stones among ! 
How many beads have here been told! 

How many matins here been sung ! 
But here no more soft music floats, 

No holy anthems chanted now ; 
All hush'd, except the ring-dove's notes, 

Low murmuring from yon beachen bough. n 



The Abbey of Llan Egwest, or 
Valle Crucis, so called from a very 
ancient inscribed pillar or cross, the 
mutilated remains of which stand in 
an adjacent field, and will next come 
under consideration, was built and 
founded by Madog Ap Gryffydd 
Maelor, Lord of Dinas Bran, as 
before related under the head of 
Dinas Bran, 



114 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

This Abbey was built ^in the year 
of our Lord 1200, was dedicated to 
the Virgin Mary, and belonged to a 
community of Cistercian Monks, an 
order founded in France in the year 
1098. The remains of the Abbey 
Church are the most picturesque and 
entire part. It was built in the form 
of a cross, which was contrary to the 
form in common use before the 
twelfth century*. 

This proves that Madog availed 
himself of the aid of skilful workmen, 
and it is probable that the fraternity 
called Free Masons were employed, 
as they were incorporated about this 
time, and were the chief undertakers 
of such works. Their government 
was regular, and they were wont to 
make an encampment of huts. A 

* Whittington on Gothic Architecture. Dr. Milner's 
History of Winchester. 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 115 

surveyor governed in chief; every 
tenth man being called a warden, 
and overlooking nine. They ranged 
from one country to another, as they 
found churches to be built*. 

The Church is built in different 
styles of architecture. The east end 
seems the most ancient, and the 
three lancet-like arched windows 
have a very peculiar effect. It is 
situated at the foot of a lofty hill, 
called Fron Fawr, and a little stream 
runs at the back of the Abbey, 
skirting its gardens, and turning a 
corn-mill in its passage to the Dee. 
The view from the high bank beyond 
the rivulet (which is crossed by a 
rustic plank bridge) of the east end 
of the Church and Abbey, is particu- 
larly beautiful. 

* Sir Christopher Wren's Parentalia. 



116 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

On its front or west side rise the 
Berwyn Mountains ; on the east, the 
Fron Fawr; and the whole is so en- 
veloped in beautiful foliage that it is 
perhaps one of the most enchantingly 
secluded places in the kingdom. 
The west front of the Church affords 
some admirable specimens of ancient 
gothic architecture. The grand 
entrance has been through the orna- 
mented pointed arch gateway at the 
west end; over which is a fine gothic 
window, consisting of three lancet- 
shaped arches, surmounted by a 
circular or rose window, of eight 
divisions; but it is too lofty to admit 
of close inspection, as is also 
the following mutilated inscription, 
which is above it: — 

AD. . . .ADAM. . . .DMS fecit hoc opus. Pace beata 
quiescat. Amen. 
MD.... 

The rest of the last line is oblite- 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 117 

rated. The following translation 
may not be unacceptable : — 

AD. . . . ADAM DMS built (or rebuilt) this work. 

May he rest in happy peace. Amen. 

MD.... 

The letters MD seem to have been 
meant as part of the date marking 
the time when the Church was re- 
paired, and go far to prove the little 
veneration shown to this once elegant 
structure by the neighbouring people, 
and that its dilapidation was unu- 
sually rapid. Now, we will suppose 
that the inscription MD means 
1500, and allow that it was then 
in complete repair, and that it was 
one of the first Abbeys dissolved, 
say in 1538; for I do not read that 
Henry VIII. began his reformation 
among the religious houses before 
that time; I find in Camden's 
Britannia, speaking of this place, the 
following passage: — "Save onely a 



118 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

little Abbay, now wholly decaied, 
but standing most richly and plea- 
santly in a vale, which among the 
woody hils cutteth itself overthwart 
in manner of a crosse, whereupon it 
was called in Latin Vallis Cruris, 
that is, the Vale of the Crosse, and 
in British, Lhane Gwest*." 

Camden's great work, Britannia, 
was published in 1586; and from 
these facts 1 draw my conclusion 
that it was ransacked and destroyed 
soon after its dissolution, as I suppose 
it was — 

In complete repair, A.D. 1500; 

Dissolved by order of Henry VIII. 
A.D. 1538|; 

* Camden's Britan. p. 677. 

t These dates may have been some years later* In 
a MS. obligingly lent to me, it is stated, " Dissolved by 
statute of Henry VIII. 1561, at which time it was rated 
in the King's Books at 214/. 3s. 3d.:" so that it was 
wholly decayed, as Camden has it, in twenty-five years. 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 119 

Wholly decayed, as by Camden, 
1586*. 

Of the magnificence of this ancient 
Monastery no adequate description 
can now be given, and scarcely an 
idea formed of what it has been. 
The body and nave of the Church 
are disfigured, and nearly choked up 
with masses of ruins, and large and 
luxuriant forest trees, among which 
the ash and sycamore are most pre- 
dominant. The length of the Church 
is about one hundred and eighty feet; 
the width I can only guess at, as the 
north side is wholly gone. An 
author before me says the nave was 
thirty-one feet broad, and the side 
aisle thirteen feet. 



* This is the year in which Camden's Latin Edition 
appeared ; consequently, this survey must have been 
made before. 



120 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

In the north transept are the 
remains of a chapel, said by some to 
have contained the tomb of the 
founder. In a wall in the cloister 
stands a double benetoir, or vessel 
for holy water. The cloister is small 
and gloomy, whose 

" Storied windows, richly dight, 
Have shed a dim religious light." 

The solemnity of the place, and 
the stillness that reigns, aided by 
the subdued light of the moon, and 
by a vivid fancy, may conjure up 
strange ideas, and 

il Still may imagination's ardent eye 
In the tall grove the sage's form espy ; 
See him intent with sacred zeal to plan 
Some moral lesson for ungrateful man." 

The part of the Abbey now re- 
maining is inhabited by a farmer, 
who will show the premises on proper 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 121 

application. There is a Saxon or 
semicircular arched gateway in the 
farm-yard, adjoining a very curious 
gothic window, well worthy attention. 
The dormitory or sleeping cells were 
formerly entered by stone stairs 
from the outside, which have been 
removed within the last two years. 
The floor of the dormitory is sup- 
ported by low massive pillars; and 
the arches which spring from their 
capitals form vaulted rooms, in which 
the family reside. There are many 
beautiful features in this interesting 
ruin, to amply repay the attention of 
the curious, and the research of the 
antiquarian. The front seems to 
have been extensive, and before it 
gurgles up a very pure spring of 
water. The Abbot's apartments 
were contiguous to the church, and 
there opened from one of them a 
small space, where he might stand, 

G 



122 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

and hear the holy services performed 
below. 

The venerable ruin is lessened by 
every succeeding tenant, and some 
of the recently erected buildings 
exhibit stones with mutilated devices 
and inscriptions worked up in the 
walls. In one of the farmer's bed- 
chambers a stone forms part of a 
chimney-piece, which is carved with 
running foliage, and contains this 
imperfect inscription: — 

"Hie j ace t Arvrvet." 

This is the only remain of any 
tomb discovered. In digging a few 
months ago in the farm-yard, to 
make a drain, at a short distance 
from the surface were dug up the 
remains of eleven men, in a very small 
compass of ground, which goes far 
to prove that this was the common 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 123 

cemetery of the Abbey; and also a 
wedge-like stone, having carved on 
its front a hand, holding a vine or 
olive branch, bearing fruit. The 
stone is now at Plas Newydd. 

I have in my account of Castell 
Dinas Bran recorded that Madog Ap 
Gryffydd Maelor was buried in this 
Abbey, A.D. 1236; and his son, 
Gryffydd Ap Madog Maelor, Lord 
of Dinas Bran, A.D. 1270. 

Having thus given the best account 
I can of the present state of this once 
noble Abbey, I now proceed to state 
what I can collect from authentic 
sources of its Abbots and its endow- 
ments. 

Reyner, Bishop of St. Asaph, who 
died in 1224, bestowed on this Abbey 
half the tithes of Wrexham. Abra- 

G 2 



124 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

ham, his brother, succeeded him in 
the Bishoprick in 1227, and gave the 
remaining half*. 

Howel Ap Ednyfed, successor to 
Abraham, gave to it the Church of 
Llangollen f. The monks also ob- 
tained, besides these endowments, 
the patronage of several other livings, 
as Wrexham, Ruabon, Chirk, Llan- 
sanfraid, and Llandegla. 

The freemen of Llangollen made 
a grant in part of the river near their 
town of a fishery to the monks of 
Valle Crucis; and, for want of a seal 
of their own, affixed the seal of the 
founder of the Abbey to the grant J. 

The landed endowments were, in 

* Pennant, vol. 1. t Pennant, vol. 1, p. 395. 
% Pennant, vol. I, p. 397. 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 125 

the year 1291, near the Abbey, a 
grange, with three ploughlands*, a 
mill, and other conveniences, pro- 
bably the donations of the founder 
Madog; the granges of Bodhange, 
Tregam, Rudryn, and Baketon. I 
have no means of ascertaining who 
were the donors of the farms, but I 
find they had also the dairy farm of 
Nante; the grange of Nostroyz, 
Convenet, and Grennychamt; ako 
the grange of Wyrcessam, consisting 
of one ploughland and some pasture, 
with thirty cows, valued in those days 
at only thirty shillings. 

All these estates were vested in 
the Abbot for the time being, and 
formed no inconsiderable revenue; 
but the title of the monks to several 
of the livings was disputed by a sue- 

* A ploughland is nearly one hundred acres. 



126 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

ceeding Bishop of St. Asaph, called 
Y Brawd Du O Nannau, or the 
Black Brother of Nanny, who ob- 
tained a decision in his favour. The 
third of the tithes of Bryn Eglwys, 
or Egwestl, was, however, allotted to 
them, in lieu of the patronage of 
Llandegla. 

The monks had also a dispute 
with the freemen of Llangollen 
respecting the fishery, the former 
having erected works on the river, 
whereby they caught more fish than 
the Llangollen folks thought came 
to their share, or than abstemious 
monks could require. However, 
the affair was referred to the Prince 
of Wales, and the fishery was con- 
firmed to the Abbey in 1234. 

I will now lay before my readers a 
short account of some of the Abbots. 



VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 127 

Dafydd Ap Ivan Jorwerth is highly 
celebrated by a bard in the year 
1480, who says of him, and of his suc- 
cessor, Ivan, or John, that they lived 
in great splendour, that they had 
four courses every day served on 
bright silver dishes, and they drank 
claret, &c. He also commends the 
piety of the house, and says that he 
was so happy as to be blessed by 
Abbot John, who had three of his 
fingers covered with rings- The last 
Abbot was John Heme, who received 
an annuity of 23?. per annum on his 
surrender. In 1553 this annuity, and 
others to some of the surviving 
monks, to the amount of 10/. 13s. 4cL 
were the whole of the remaining 
charges*. 

This is said to be the first Abbey 
that was dissolved in Wales, and it 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 398. 



128 VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. 

remained in the crown until the ninth 
of James I. who then granted it to 
Edward Wotton, created Lord 
Wotton. In 1654, Margaret Wotton 
was in possession. She was a re- 
cusant, and Cromwell then put it 
under sequestration to Edward Da- 
vies, the Cneifwr Gl&s of Eglwyseg. 

The last possessor, Mrs. Thomas, 
of Trevor Hall, built a kind of 
summer-house at the back of the 
Abbey, adjoining to a pond abound- 
ing with trout. Here was a charming 
field for the display of taste ; but, as 
in the hut at the top of Dinas Bran, 
the opportunity has been lost. 

Leaving the Abbey, let us now 
proceed through the adjoining 
meadow to the Pillar of Eliseg, from 
which the valley takes its name. 



OR 

THE PILLAR OF ELISEG. 



- a The time draws on 



When not a single spot of burial earth, 
Whether on land, or in the spacious sea, 
But must give back its long committed dust 
Inviolate. " 



The Pillar of Eliseg is supposed to 
be one of the oldest inscribed British 
columns now existing, and is erected 
in a field about three furlongs from 
the Abbey, standing in a delightful 
valley, to which it gives the name of 
Valle Crucis, or the Vale of the 
Cross. The spot on which it stands 
is a gentle elevation, and is called 
Llwyn y Groes, i.e. the Grove of the 
Cross. The pillar was twelve feet 

G 3 



130 LA CRUCIS. 

high, and inscribed all round with 
letters. It stood in its place until 
some of Cromwell's fanatical soldiers 
overthrew and broke it. 

The pillar remained cast down 
many years, until Trevor Lloyd, Esq. 
of Trevor Hall, reared its mutilated 
remains again into its base, which 
had not been removed, and placed 
upon it this Latin inscription: — 

QUOD HUJUS VETERIS MONUMENTI 

SUPEREST 

DIU EX OCULIS REMOTUM 

ET NEGLECTUM 

TANDEM RESTITUIT 

T. LLOYD 
TREVOR HALL 

MDCCLXXIX. 

Translated as follows : — 

"T. LLOYD, of Trevor Hall, at length, in the year 
1779, restored what remains of this ancient Monument, 
which had been a long time removed from sight, and 
neglected/' 



LA CRUCIS. 131 

The Cross, or Pillar, for it seems 
never to have had the form of a 
Cross, is now little more than eight 
feet high. The old inscription, 
which time has rendered illegible, 
has been carefully copied by that 
great antiquarian, Mr. Edward 
Llwyd*, and informs us nearly of 
the time of its erection, as under: — 

"Concenn filius Cateli.. Cateli t filius Brochmail 
Brochmail filius Eliseg..Eliseg filius Cnoillaine 
Concenn itaque pronepos Eliseg edificavit hunc 
Lapidem proavo suo Eliseg." 

Of which the following seems to be 
an exact translation : — 

"Concenn, the son of Cateli ; Cateli the son of Brochmail; 
Brochmail, the son of Eliseg ; Eliseg,theson of Cnoillaine; 
Concenn, therefore the great-grandson of Eliseg, erected 
this stone to his great-grandfather Eliseg." 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 399. 

t Although Pennant spells the second Cateli with two 
letters of t, yet it has been published by others with 
only one; and as the name in both instances refers to 
the same person, I have adopted the latter course. 



132 LA CRUC1S. 

The characters resemble one of 
the alphabets in use about the sixth 
century, at which time this sepulchral 
pillar was erected. Concenn and 
Eliseg probably resided at Castell 
Dinas Bran; and a township adja- 
cent bears the name of Eglwyseg, as 
well as the stupendous and pictu- 
resque mass of rocks that range 
along the vale, called the Eglwyseg 
Rocks, from Eliseg. Brochmail, 
another of the persons mentioned, 
deserted the protection of the Monks 
of Bangor at the battle of West 
Chester, when twelve hundred of 
those unfortunate unarmed religious 
were cut to pieces by the forces of 
Athelfrid or Edilfred, King of 
Northumberland, A.D. 607*. 

Brochmail, whom I suppose to be 

* Warrington, p. 87, 



LA CRUC1S. 133 

the same the Latins called Broch- 
mailus,was a great prince in that part 
of Britain called Powisland, which 
was then very extensive, stretching 
from the Severn to the Dee in a right 
line, from the end of Broxon Hills to 
Salop, and comprehending all the 
country between the Wye and 
Severn. He resided at Pengwern 
Powis, now Shrewsbury*, in a house 
situated where the College of St. 
Chad now stands. He was a great 
friend and favourer of the Monks of 
Bangor, and took part with them 
against the Saxons, instigated by 
Augustine the Monk to prosecute 
them with fire and sword, because 
they would not agree to the forms 
and ceremonies of the Church of 
Rome, and forsake their own esta- 
blished customs f. 

* Camden, p. 595. 
t Wynne, p. 23. 



134 LA CRUCIS. 

I was so fortunate as to meet with 
two persons who assisted in opening 
the tumulus before the pillar was 
re-erected; and they gave me the 
following account: — On digging be- 
low the flat pedestal in which the 
base of the Pillar had been inserted, 
they came to a layer of pebble 
stones; and after having removed 
them, to a large flat slab, on which 
it seems the body had been laid, as 
they now found the remains of it, 
guarded round with large flat blue 
stones, and covered at top with the 
same; the whole forming a sort of 
stone box or coffin. The bones 
were entire, and of very large di- 
mensions. The skull and teeth, 
which were very white and perfect, 
were particularly sound. My in- 
formants said they believed the skull 
was sent to Trevor Hall, but it was 
returned, and again deposited, with 



LA CRUCIS. 135 

the rest of the bones, in its former 
sepulchre. By this it should seem 
that Eliseg was not an old man 
when he was buried here, and it is 
wonderful that greater decomposi- 
tion had not taken place in twelve 
hundred years. 

One of the persons who assisted 
at the exhumation is now a very old 
man, and was huntsman to Mr. 
Lloyd when the tumulus was opened. 
He says there was a large piece of 
silver coin found in the coffin, which 
was kept; but that the skull was 
gilded to preserve it, and was then 
again deposited with its kindred 
bones. I asked if the bones were 
sound; and he answered (I give his 
own words), "O, no, sir; they broke 
like gingerbread." 

I have now reached the limits I 



136 LA CRUCIS. 

prescribed for myself on the north 
side of the Dee, and trust I have 
noticed every thing most worthy of 
attention. 1 purpose next to give a 
short account of the rivet-, and pass- 
ing Llangollen Bridge, continue my 
route to Glyndyfrdwy and Sycharth, 
once the residence of Owen Glyndwr. 



®9* i£tl>#r &$ti 



u On scenes like these the eye delights to dwell, 
Here loud cascades, and there the silent dell; 
The lofty mountains, bleak and barren, rise, 
And spread their ample bosoms to the skies ; 
While still the rushing river rolls along, 
The theme of many a humble shepherd's song, 
And as it rolls, the trout, in speckled pride, 
Springs playful in the smooth translucent tide." 



The river Dee forms a beautiful 
and interesting feature in all the 
most picturesque views around 
Llangollen. Passing from Glyndy- 
frdwy down the river, it successively 
assumes the appearance of the 
brawling brook over beds of pebbles ; 
the deep tranquil character of the 
gliding lake, reflecting on its pure 
bosom the woods and mountains 
that surround it; the rushing cascade 



138 THE RIVER DEE. 

or rapids, over beds of rocks, or 
through chasms of stone. 

"The current that with gentle murmur glides, 

Opposed by rocks impatiently doth rage ; 

But when his fair course is not hindered, 

He makes sweet music with the enamelled stones, 

Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge 

He overtaketh in his pilgrimage ; 

And so by many winding nooks he strays 

With willing sport to the wild ocean." 

It rises a few miles beyond Bala, 
a town about twenty miles from 
Llangollen, on the west, and runs 
through a pool now called Bala pool, 
some say without mingling its 
stream*. There is no river in England 
which has been so much celebrated 
by our poets for its sanctity as the 
Dee; and Camden describes it as 
"riseingon the east sideof Merion- 
ethshire, and forthwith passeth entire 
and whole through Lhintegid, in 



* Pennant, vol. 2, p. 80. 



THE RIVER DEE. 139 

English, Pimble Meare, or Plenlin 
Meare*, a lake spreding far in length 
and bredth ; and so runneth out of it 
with as great a streame as it entred 
in ; for neither shal a man see in the 
Dee the fishes called guiniad, which 
are peculiar to the Meare, nor yet 
salmons in the Meare, which never- 
thelesse are commonly taken in the 
river f." 

The mazy windings of the Dee, 
embellished as its banks are with 
the fresh green shrubs and plants 
which flourish there in great luxuri- 
ance, afford a very delightful walk, 
independent of the great amusement 
to anglers for which this river has 
ever been so famous. The trout are 
as fine as any in the kingdom, and 

* Bala Pool. 

t Camden's Brit. p. 666. 



140 THE RIVER DEE. 

are very plentiful. Many men ob- 
tain a livelihood during the season, 
by fishing in this beautiful river, 
which they contrive to manage in 
their little coracles, a large kind of 
round basket, covered with skins or 
tarpawling, and with a board across 
the centre for a seat. It is amusing 
to see them waft themselves where 
they please, with a little paddle in 
one hand, and a fly-rod in the other, 
fishing every corner of the deep 
pool; and when tired, rowing to 
land, throwing their boats on their 
shoulders, and walking with them to 
another deep pool, where they again 
commence operations. 

Salmon come up the river to 
spawn; and although so many do 
not reach Llangollen as in former 
times, owing to the new inventions 
erected on the river to entrap them 



THE RIVER DEE. 141 

in their way from the sea, yet many 
of them overcome all impediments, 
and reach their usual haunts. I saw 
last summer, at the season when the 
salmon fray, or fry, seek their way to 
the sea from the river where they 
have been bred, large shoals of these 
fish, and at one time more than forty 
fishing rods successfully employed 
in a small space of water near the 
water-mill just above the bridge. 
This fishery continued in great ac- 
tivity for many days; the bait used 
being a common ground-worm, or a 
straw-worm, here called corbet. 
A little fresh in the river at length 
came, of which the fish took advan- 
tage, and proceeded on their way, 
after having lost some thousands of 
their numbers at Llangollen. 

The otter is found in this river, 
and, owing to the many fastnesses, 



142 THE RIVER DEE. 

can seldom be destroyed. There 
are also numerous and various aqua- 
tic birds. The rock-ousel, the 
kingfisher, the sand-piper, the crane, 
and a duck-like bird, with black 
and white plumeage, which the 
inhabitants term a cormorant, are 
very common. 

About a mile above the bridge is 
a deep chasm in the rocky bed, 
through which the whole river, when 
not swollen, rushes. It is six yards 
across, and bears the name of Llam 
Y Lleidr, i.e. Thief's Leap, from 
the circumstance of a robber, who 
was pursued closely, having pos- 
sessed sufficient agility to clear this 
space, while his unfortunate pursuer 
fell short, and was engulphed in the 
roaring torrent, narrowly escaping 
the loss of life, as well as of property. 
There is another chasm nearer the 



THE BRIDGE. 143 

bridge, still deeper and narrower, 
called the Cow's Leap. 

The river runs over a bed of dark- 
coloured silicious rock, which is 
sometimes got by the inhabitants for 
the use of building. The bed of the 
river is consequently very uneven, 
which causes it to foam and rush 
very impetuously along. 

Wbe Brttrge 

Is a plain gothic structure at the 
west end of Llangollen, and consists 
of four irregularly formed pointed 
arches, with projecting angular but- 
tresses. The bridge was built across 
the Dee by John Trevor, Bishop of 
St. Asaph, and Chancellor of 
Chester, A.D. 1346, and was ac- 
counted one of the wonders of Wales. 
The arches are of various dimensions. 



144 THE BRIDGE. 

but the only wonder I can discover 
seems to be the foundation, which is 
laid upon the rock that forms the bed 
of the river, and is fastened thereto 
with iron clamps. The bridge is 
built of hewn stone, and is, like 
most other old bridges, very narrow 
and ill-paved. 

Many wonderful tales are related 
of the sudden rise of this river, and 
it certainly is a very inconstant 
stream; but I cannot conceive it 
possible that the water should ever 
have risen, as reported, so high as 
the base of the parapet. There is 
another little bridge called the Chain 
Bridge, about two miles up the river. 

I will now cross the bridge to the 
south side of the river. 



IKItttt 9&tVh1»& 



" They lookM a manly, generous generation, 
Beards, shoulders, eyebrows, broad and square and 
thick ; 

Their accents firm, and loud in conversation ; 
Their eyes and gestures eager, sharp, and quick." 



About five miles west of Llangollen, 
upon the road to Corwen, and on 
the south side of the Dee, the way 
being enriched by such varied and 
enchanting scenery as will amply 
repay the traveller of taste for the 
fatigue of the excursion, is Glyn 
Dyfrdwy, once the property and 
residence of that famous chieftain 
Owen Glyndwr, whose birth Shak- 
speare says marked him extraordi- 
nary. I will, however, here give a 
short account of his life, which I 

H 



146 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

trust will prove entertaining to many 
of my readers, and plainly show that 
"he was not in the roll of common 
men." 

Owen Ap GryfFydd Fychan, better 
known by the name of Owen Glyn- 
dwr*, was descended from a younger 
son of GryfFydd Ap Madog, Lord of 
Powis Bromfeild, and of Dinas Bran. 
He received his education in one of 
the inns of court, and became a 
barrister-at-law. 

It seems that about the year of 
our Lord 1395, he came into great 
favour with King Richard II. who 
made him his scutifer, or shield- 
bearer|; and Owen was with the 
King when he was surrendered to 

* Wynne, p. 315. 
t Wynne, p. 320. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 147 

Henry, Duke of Lancaster, together 
with the Castle of Flint*. 

Betwixt Owen and Reginald, Lord 
Grey, of Ruthin, there arose a fierce 
dispute, about a common lying 
between the Lordship of Ruthin and 
Glyndyfrdwy, and belonging to 
Owen, who now assumed the name 
of Glyndwr; and who was held in 
great respect by his countrymen, 
having artfully induced them to 
believe that he could "call spirits 
from the vasty deep." Reginald 
was at first conquered, and Owen 
possessed the disputed land; but 
after the deposal and murder of 
King Richard in Pomfret Castle 
apd Henry had mounted the throne t> 
the scene was changed; as Henry 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 327. 

t Wynne, p. 315. 

H 2 



148 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

aided Lord Grey, who with his own 
vassals, and assisted by some of the 
King's forces, again dispossessed 
Owen of the land. Several severe 
encounters took place between the 
rival chieftains; and although Regi- 
nald's adherents were more nume- 
rous, the wily lawyer was more 
fertile in expedients. 

Owen, being apprised of an attack 
intended to be made upon him by 
Lord Grey, here practised a suc- 
cessful ruse de guerre. He erected 
a number of stakes in a bottom still 
called Dol Benig*, and having clad 
them in jackets and Welch caps, so 
alarmed Reginald by their appear- 
ance that he gave up the expedition. 



* About seven miles from Llangollen, and not far from 
Glyndyfrdwy, on the Corwen road, there is a meadow 
ealled " D6l Benig" or Head Meadow, where this 
scheme was practised. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 149 

At length Owen's good fortune 
and perseverance brought his enemy 
into his power*. Having artfully 
drawn Reginald from his strong hold 
of Ruthin, he caused his horses to 
be shod backwards, which induced 
Reginald to advance, supposing he 
was pursuing a flying enemy, when 
he fell into an ambuscade, and 
was suddenly surrounded by Owen's 
forces, and made prisoner. Owen 
then marched to Ruthin, burnt the 
castle, destroyed the town, and 
despoiled the country |. 

Prior to this success, Owen had 
laid his complaints before the King's 
Parliament, and John Trevor, Bishop 
of St. Asaph, and Chancellor of 
Chester, seeing that no attention 
was paid to his petition, after a long 

* Canib. Trav. Guide, p. 324. 
t Wynne, p. 316. 



150 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

delay, ventured to expostulate with 
the Lords, and to caution them that 
they did not, by slighting or neg- 
lecting Owen's complaint, provoke 
the Welch to insurrection. The 
reply of the Lords was full of 
contempt, saying, "They did not 
fear those rascally bare-footed 
people*. It was subsequent to this 
time that Glyndwr, finding his suit 
neglected, resolved to endeavour to 
redress his own wrongs, which ter- 
minated in the capture of Reginald, 
as before related 

This signal success drew to Owen 
many of his countrymen from all 
parts of the principality, who urged 
him on, asserting that the period 
was now arrived in which the 
prophecies of Merlin would be 

* Wynne, p. 316. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 151 

fulfilled; and that he was the man 
through whose valour the lost honour 
and liberties of their native country 
were to be recovered. 

Owen Glyndwr, smarting with 
resentment, and impelled by his 
ambition, suffered himself to be 
persuaded to undertake the emanci- 
pation of the principality ; and in the 
mean time kept Reginald Lord Grey 
a close prisoner; demanding ten 
thousand marks for his ransom; six 
thousand to be paid on the feast of 
St. Martin, in the fourth year of the 
King's reign, and Reginald to deliver 
up his eldest son, with other persons 
of quality, as hostages for the due 
performance*. 

The King, at the humble suit of 

* Wynne, p. 316. 



152 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

Lord Grey (he finding no other means 
for his enlargement), appointed 
a council to treat with Glyndwr, who 
stoutly refusing to recede from his 
terms, they agreed to give him the 
sum demanded. It is also said that 
Owen obliged Reginald to marry 
one of his daughters*. 

Owen, being thus amply provided 
with money, and joined by numbers 
of his countrymen, now flew at higher 
game, and boldly attacked the Earl 
of March, who met him with a nu- 
merous body of Herefordshire men. 
They came to close action, when the 
Welchmen under Owen proved vic- 
torious, and the Earl of March was 
taken prisoner, some accounts say 
by Owen himself in single combat f. 
With his freedom he lost above a 



* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 331. 
t Wynne, p. 317. 



GLYN DYFRYDWY. 153 

thousand men, who were most sa- 
vagely abused after they were dead. 

Edmund, Earl of March, whom 
Owen Glyndwr now held in thral- 
dom, was next in blood to Richard II. 
and therefore it was not displeasing 
to King Henry that he should be 
thus kept out of the way : nay, Cam- 
den says — " He (Edmund) stood 
greatly suspected to Henrie the 
Fourth, who had usurped the king- 
dome; and by him was first exposed 
unto danger, insomuch as he was 
taken by Owen Glyndwr, arebell*." 
King Henry, therefore, as might be 
supposed, turned a deaf ear to every 
solicitation made on the Earl's 
behalf. 

Now it was that Glyndwr, flushed 

* CamdeD, p. 625. 

H 3 



154 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

with success, resolved to assume the 
title of Prince of Wales ; and treating 
the King as a usurper of the crown, 
and simply as Duke of Lancaster, 
he caused himself to be proclaimed 
throughout the Principality. The 
better to grace the matter, he 
feigned himself descended in the 
female line from Llewellyn Ap 
Gruffydh, the last Prince. 

His ambition now knew no 
bounds; and, by virtue of his new 
title, he summoned a parliament at 
Machynlleth, in Montgomeryshire, 
whither all the nobility and gentry 
of Wales resorted. He kept his 
court at Sychnant, about seven miles 
from Llangollen, on the road to 
Corwen. It is now distinguished 
by a grove of firs, situated in a beau- 
fully fertile country, and overlooking 
the Dee. A few scattered stones 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 155 

are all that remain to mark the 
site where the palace of Owen 
Glyndwr once stood, which his bard, 
Iolo Goch, sung was as large as 
Westminster Abbey*. 

About the middle of August, 1402, 
Henry, finding the power of Owen 
Glyndwr increasing, and the turbu- 
lence of the Welch breaking all 
bounds, resolved to crush their re- 
bellion, and putting himself at the 
head of a powerful army, marched 
into Wales. But the very elements 
seemed to fight against him, the 
weather proving so extraordinarily 
inclement that the King was obliged 



* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 328. Iolo Goch says — " Owen's 
Palace had a gate -house: was surrounded with a moat; 
had nine halls, furnished with the wardrobes of his 
retainers ; had a house adjoining, built of wood, and 
covered with tiles, designed for his guests. The office 
of porter was useless ; locks and bolts were unknown ; 
and no one could be hungry or dry at Sycharth." So 
Mr. Pennant spells it. 



156 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

to make a precipitate retreat, with- 
out accomplishing his intentions*. 
The people attributed the dreadful 
tempests which at that season oc- 
curred to the magic power of Owen, 
who found it his interest to encou- 
rage their credulity. 

Edward Mortimer, perceiving the 
King had no intention of opening 
his prison doors, and Glyndwr 
treating him with increased gentle- 
ness and respect, fell into the scheme 
this artful and politic man had 
devised. Owen Glyndwrf was 
married to Margaret, the only 
daughter of Sir David Hanmer, of 
Hanmer, in Flintshire (who was one 
of the Justices of the King's Bench, 
and was knighted by King Richard 

* Wynne, p. 317. Pennant, vol. 1, p. 355. 
t English Baronetage, vol. 1, p. 167. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 157 

II.) by whom he had many children; 
and at this time three of his daugh- 
ters were unmarried, on one of 
whom the captive Earl cast an eye 
of affection. Glyndwr at once saw 
the advantage of this predilection, 
and proposed to league with him 
against the King, and to cement 
this union by the marriage of his 
daughter to the Earl. 

To strengthen this league, and 
make the proposed insurrection 
irresistible, the Earls of Worcester 
and Northumberland, two of the 
most powerful Nobles in England, 
together with the Scottish Chief 
Douglas, and Northumberland's 
valiant son Henry Percy, better 
known by the name of Hotspur, were 
invited to join their standards; and 
these rebellious Lords met at the 
house of Dafyd Daron, the Arch- 



158 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

deacon of Bangor*, and there signed 
an indenture, sealing it with their 
own seals, to bind themselves to 
assemble their forces, and join in 
putting down the King, and for 
dividing the kingdom, vainly relying 
upon a foolish prediction of Merlin, 
in which the King was depicted as 
an execrable moldwarp, and Glyn- 
dwr and his colleagues as the wolf, 
the lion, and the dragon, that were 
to pull the moldwarp downf. 

This treaty, made with so much 
secrecy, and executed in the re- 
cesses of Glyndwr's dominions, was 
soon communicated to King Henry. 
Sir David Gam, so called because 
he had a crooked eye, or squinted, 
or, as some say, had but one eye, 

* Wynne, p. 317. 

t Wynne, p. 318. Pennant, vol. 1, p. 321. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 159 

was a strong and faithful partizan of 
the Duke of Lancaster, now King 
Henry IV. and consequently the 
inveterate enemy of Owen Glyndwr, 
now Prince of Wales, at whose 
Parliament he attended, together 
with the chief of the Welch nobles 
and gentry, but with very different 
intentions ; he having determined to 
put an end to Glyndwr's rebellion 
with his life*. 

David Gam was the son of Llew- 
ellyn Ap Howel Vaughn, a gentleman 
of Brecknock. His scheme and 
his purpose were, however, unfor- 
tunately for him, discovered and 
frustrated, and he was immediately 
secured, and ordered by Owen for 
execution! ; but many of his greatest 

* Wynne, p. 320. 

t Pennant, vol. 1, p. 3G0. 



160 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

friends and adherents pleading for 
Gam's life, Owen thought it politic 
then to stifle his resentment, and to 
grant him both life and liberty, on 
his solemnly promising to continue 
in future true and faithfully loyal to 
Glyndwr. 

The promises of men in those 
days were frequently regarded only 
so long as it suited their interests or 
convenience. Such was the case 
with David Gam, who no sooner 
found himself among his own friends, 
and in his own country, than he 
began to assail and annoy all the 
favourers and adherents of Glyndwr, 
who being soon apprised of the 
practices against him, and of the use 
Sir David made of his liberty, 
marched with all expedition at the 
head of a small body of his re- 
tainers, intending to make him pri- 



GLYN DYFRYDWY. 161 

soner*; but Sir David had the good 
fortune to elude his vigilance, and 
escaped into England, where he lived 
for the most part at court, not daring 
to visit his native country until after 
the death of Owen Glyndwr. 

Having thus missed his prey, 
Owen set no bounds to his resent- 
ment. He burnt Gam's house to 
the ground, wasted his substance, 
despoiled his tenants and friends, 
and by the rigor of his proceedings 
so estranged the hearts of all, and 
created so many enemies, that it was 
reasonable to expect that through 
Sir David's means, or some of his 
emissaries, the King would have 
information of what was plotting 
against him in Wales. 

* Wynne, p. 321. 



162 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

Henry at this time, fortunately, 
had a small army assembled for 
another purpose; and no sooner 
was he apprised of this conspiracy 
against him, than, placing himself at 
the head of his troops, he marched 
them for Wales, to attack the confe- 
derates before they had time to 
conjoin their forces*. Owen had 
not collected all his strength!, and 
the Earl of Northumberland, who 
was considered generalissimo, being 
seized with a sudden illness, and 
confined to his bed at Berwick-upon- 
Tweed, the King found the rebels 
under the command of Hotspur at 
Shrewsbury. 

The insurgent chiefs, seeing a 
battle inevitable, and knowing that 

* Rapin's England. t Pennant. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 163 

Glyndwr, with his hardy Welchmen, 
was in full march to join them (in 
fact, he reached Oswestry at the 
head of 12,000 men on the very day 
the battle was fought), to gain time 
proposed a conference, and drew up 
a list of grievances to be redressed; 
but the matter ended in mutual re- 
crimination, and both sides prepared 
for battle. The numbers were nearly 
equal, about 12,000 on each side, 
and the two armies were inflamed 
by the most dreadful animosity. 

The battle began with the most 
determined courage. The King 
was seen every where animating his 
troops in the post of danger, and he 
was most nobly seconded by his son, 
afterwards the renowned Henry V. 
the conqueror of France. On the 
other side the chieftains fought like 
men accustomed to the bloody bu- 



164 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

siness of war; and the battle was 
fierce, obstinate, and doubtful ; when 
the daring Hotspur, supporting the 
high character which he had pur- 
chased by so many victories, and 
seeking a personal encounter with 
the King, fell by an unknown hand. 

The loss of their gallant leader 

was the loss of the battle. The 

fortune of the King prevailed; and 

although on that day no less than 

two thousand six hundred gentlemen, 

and six thousand common men were 

slain, this victory served to confirm 

Henry on his usurped throne, 

humbled the great Barons, and 

restored peace to England. Had 

Owen Glyndwr at this juncture 

pressed forward from Oswestry, 

where it has been before said he was 

lying with a fresh army, and as 

numerous as the English were before 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 165 

they had sustained so severe a loss, 
he might have changed the aspect 
of affairs; but at this distance of 
time a proper judgment cannot be 
formed. Some historians blame him 
for his precipitate retreat into Wales, 
whither he was followed by a part of 
the English army, under young 
Henry, who made himself master of 
the Castle of Aberystwith, which 
Owen afterwards recaptured. 

After this time Owen's fortunes 
appeared to decline*, and the fatal 
battle of Husk, fought on the 15th 
of March, in which Glyndwr's son 
was taken, and more than fifteen 
hundred of his men slain, seems to 
have sealed his doom. But Glyndwr, 
although reduced, was not subdued, 
and he continued a predatory and 

* Wynne, p. 319. 



166 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

harassing warfare, most annoying 
and destructive; sometimes making 
a sudden eruption into the marches, 
and sometimes into the heart of the 
country ; for now, the Welch having 
submitted to the King, and being 
reconciled, Glyndwr considered his 
countrymen his enemies. His skill 
in devices, together with his local 
knowledge of the country, kept the 
Principality in a dreadful state of 
fear and fermentation ; and although 
he eluded every effort made to en- 
trap him, yet his turbulent spirit 
drew upon his country the vengeance 
of the King, in the most severe laws 
that were ever enacted against a 
civilised people*. 



* Wynne, p. 319. These rebellious practices of 
Glyndwr so exasperated King Henry against the Welch 
people, that he enacted laws which in effect took away 
all their liberties. They were rendered incapable of 
purchasing any lands, or of being elected Members of 
any county or borough; or of undertaking any office 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 167 

Owen Glyndwr, once Prince of 
Wales, was now reduced to hide 
himself in the caves and fastnesses 
of the country, to avoid the pursuit 
of his enemies. He was concealed 
and supported for some time by 
Ednyfed Ap Aron, in a cave near 
the sea-side, at Llangelynin, in Me- 
rionethshire, still called Ogof 
Owain*. The danger past, he again 



civil or military in any town incorporate. No English- 
man could be convicted of any crime against a Welchman, 
but by an English judge and jury. An Englishman, by 
marrying a Welch woman, was deprived of all his privi- 
leges as an English subject. No Welchman could possess 
any castle or place of defence, or be supplied with 
victuals or armour, without a warrant from the King 
or from his Common Council. And further it was en- 
acted that no Welchman should be capable of under- 
taking the office of Justice, Chamberlain, Sheriff, or 
other place of trust, in any part of Wales; notwith- 
standing any patent or license heretofore given to the 
contrary. With other rigorous and unjust laws, forbid- 
ding any Welchman from bringing up his children to 
learning, or binding them to any trade or occupation. 
Henry V. at his succession repealed these abominable 
laws. 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 371. 



168 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

blazed forth in the destruction of a 
territory he had once aspired to 
govern; sometimes a fugitive, en- 
during hunger, thirst, and every 
privation; at others revelling as a 
conqueror, on the spoils of his 
countrymen and former friends. At 
last his depredations became so 
general and so indiscriminate that 
he feared every one, and became as 
"a wild man, and his hand was 
against every man, and every man's 
hand was against him." Being thus 
driven by his fears from society, he 
fled to the most solitary places, and 
at length died for lack of suste- 
nance*. 

Thus ignobly perished Owen Ap 
Gryffydd Fychan, commonly known 
by the name of Owen Glyndwr — a 

* Hollinshead. Wynne, p. 319. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 169 

man who, from trifling causes, had 
conceived more determined hostility 
against the English, and had con- 
ducted that hostility with more con- 
summate skill, than any other general 
the Welch had ever produced. In 
his early career he was uniformly 
victorious : he was proclaimed 
Prince of Wales with the sanction 
of the chief men of the country, 
made alliances with princes, and 
exercised his authority with becom- 
ing dignity ; but now — 

" Mighty victor, mighty Lord, 
Low on his funeral couch he lies : 

No pitying heart, no eye t' afford 
A tear to grace his obsequies." 

Owen Glyndwr was one of those 
fierymeteors which Providence some- 
times permits to visit the earth, for 
the instruction of mankind, and to 
show us the vanity of all sublunary 
things: astonishing the world with 



170 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

their splendour, they blaze for a 
short time; and as suddenly decline, 
and sink into obscurity. Such, in 
our own horizon, have been Glyndwr 
and Cromwell, and in later times 
Bonaparte. Their course was bril- 
liant, but short; and as their great- 
ness grew, so did their suspicions 
and their fears; until, at last, life 
itself became burdensome, and the 
end of their career was clouded by 
disappointment, misery, and de- 
spair. 

But Owen Glyndwr had more 
legitimate reasons to plead than 
either of his compeers. Deprived 
of a part of his patrimony by power, 
and unable to obtain redress by law, 
he took the law into his own hands, 
and had recourse to force. Success 
produced ambition, which proved 
his overthrow. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 171 

Owen was bold, wary, and re- 
vengeful: he set no bounds to his 
resentment. He made a smoking 
ruin of the dwelling of his country- 
man, Sir David Gam, and thereby 
made him an implacable enemy. 
He was the cause of the loss of one 
hundred thousand lives*, and of the 
destruction of immense property. 
Many houses and other buildings 
were burnt and destroyed by him; 
among which I find enumerated the 
Castle of Ruthin, the Cathedral of 
St- Asaph, the Cathedral of Bangor, 
the Bishop's Palace, &c. at LlandafF, 
the towns of Leominster and Old 
Radnor, besides the house of Sir 
David Gam, &c. 

It will be right to notice that Mr. 
Pennant gives the following account 

* Cambr. Trav. Guide, p. 324. 

i 2 



172 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

of the death of Owen Glyndwr; but 
as he states there is nothing confir- 
matory of Owen's interment at 
Monnington, I have thought it right 
to adhere to the older authorities : — 
" He matched his daughters," says 
Mr. Pennant, "into considerable 
families : his eldest, Isabel, to Adam 
Ap Iorwerth Ddu; his second, 
Elizabeth, or as some say, Alicia, 
to Sir John Scudamore, of Ewyas, 
and Home Lacy, in Herefordshire ; 
Jane he forced upon Lord Grey De 
Ruthin; and his youngest daughter, 
Margaret, to Roger Monnington, of 
Monnington, in Herefordshire, at 
whose house some accounts say he 
died, and was buried in the church- 
yard there*." 

The prison where Owen confined 

* PennaDt, vol. 1, p. 331. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 173 

his captives, and of which some 
remains may still be seen, was near 
the church at Llansanfraid Glyndy- 
frdwy; and the place is still called 
Carchardy Owen Glyndwr. He 
is said to have died in the sixty-first 
year of his age. 

I trust it will be deemed a par- 
donable digression, if I now give the 
sequel of the military career of that 
loyal and truly brave Welchman, 
Sir David Gam. I have before re- 
counted that Glyndwr forced him to 
fly for protection to the court of 
England, where he continued in 
favour with King Henry IV. until 
the death of that monarch. I then 
find him accompanying his son, King 
Henry V. on his expedition into 
France, in the year of our Lord 1415, 
at the head and in the command of 
a numerous body of stout and valiant 



174 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

Welchmen, who on all occasions 
distinguished themselves by their 
courage and conduct*. 

To Sir David Gam was assigned 
the important office of reconnoitring 
the French army, on the approach of 
the famous battle of Agincourt. 
Finding the French nearly ten times 
more numerous than the English 
army, he replied to the King's ques- 
tion as to the enemy's strength — 
"An't please you, my Liege, they 
are enough to be killed, enough to 
run away, and enough to be taken 
prisoners." The King was well 
pleased with such an answer from a 
man of Sir David's valour. 

In the battle which followed, and 
which was fought on the 25th of 

* Wynne, p. 322. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 175 

October, 1415, the King alighted 
from his horse to head his footmen, 
and to encourage them to resist the 
charge of the second line of the 
French army, then advancing; when 
eighteen French cavaliers, who had 
bound themselves by an oath to kill 
King Henry, or perish, rushed upon 
him in a body, and one of them with 
a blow of his battle-axe so stunned 
the King that he would have fallen 
an easy victim, had not Sir David 
Gam, with his son-in-law, Roger 
Vaughn, and his kinsman, Walter 
Llwyd, of Brecknock, seasonably 
sprung to his rescue. They slew 
fourteen of the assailants, and deli- 
vered the King, when they fell at 
his feet, covered with wounds. In 
the heat of the battle, Henry was 
separated from his brave defenders ; 
but being soon afterwards informed 
that their wounds were mortal, he 



176 GLYN DYFRDWY. 

immediately repaired to the spot 
where Sir David and his faithful 
companions lay; and, as the only 
recompense in his power then to 
bestow, he knighted them all three 
upon the field, where they soon after 
died*. 

Thus ended the life of Sir David 
Gam; but the remembrance of his 
loyalty, and the fame of his valour, 
will live, and perpetuate his memory. 



c * So sleep the brave, who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes bless'd. 
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
Returns to deck their hallow'd mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. 
By fairy hands their knell is rung, 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung. 
There Honour comes, a pilgrim grey, 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay ; 
And Freedom shall awhile repair, 
To dwell a weeping hermit there." 



* Wynne, p. 322. 



GLYN DYFRDWY. 177 

It is conjectured that Shakspeare 
took Sir David as a specimen, when 
he wrote the character of Captain 
Fluellen, in Henry V. 

Returning towards Llangollen 
from Glyndyfrdwy, along a beautiful 
level road, made at the expense of 
Government, with the Berwyn 
Mountains rising abruptly on the 
right hand, and the murmuring Dee 
pursuing its devious course on the 
left, I pass a small brook, which 
divides the counties of Merioneth 
and Denbigh. A pillar on the top 
of the mountain above is for the same 
purpose. The views over the Dee 
are incomparably charming. 



LLANGOLLEN 

Ciwu?$§L 



w Hail, ancient edifice ; thine aisle along, 
In contemplation wrapt, now let me stray ; 

And stealing from the idly busy throng, 
Devoutly meditate the moral lay." 



Llangollen Church, which stands 
in the middle of the town, is a low 
gothic structure; and the south side 
appears the most ancient part of the 
edifice. At the east end, on the 
outside wall, are two knees, which 
seem to have been intended as the 
spring of an arch, for an enlargement 
of the building. The roof is slated, 
and there is a tower steeple at the 
west end, containing four bells and 
a clock, with quarter chimes. 



LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 179 

The Church is dedicated to Saint 
Collen Ap Gwynnawg, Ap Clydawg, 
Ap Cowdra, Ap Caradog Freichfras, 
Ap Lleyr Merim, Ap Einion Yrth, 
Ap Cunedda Wledig, by Ethni 
Wyddeles, daughter of Matholwch, 
Lord of Cwl, in the kingdom of 
Ireland*; which saint was buried 
here. In the Church was formerly 
a recumbent figure in alabaster, 
vulgarly called Saint Collen. The 
unshapely remains of this monument 
are still to be seen in the belfry, 
where it has been thrown. 

The roof of the Church is sup- 
ported with three massive stone 
octagon Doric pillars, of great anti- 
quity, and two heavy abutments. 
The roof itself is very curiously 
enriched with carved compartments, 

* Pennant, vol. 1, p. 296. 



180 LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 

in old oak, supported by figures of 
angels, in various attitudes, also of 
solid oak. These figures and the 
roof I suspect to be spoils of the 
Abbey Crucis, to which the Church 
of Llangollen was incumbent. The 
transom beams that support the 
roof are indented with tracery; and 
on the north side of the beam over 
the north aisle, is the following very 
curious inscription cut in old letter. 
It is so lofty that it can scarcely be 
made out distinctly, but I have 
taken some pains to give it cor- 
rectly :■ — 

" Y nav i ti mair vydd barod bob awr" 

Which may be thus translated: — 

a Heaven for thee, Mary, will be open every hour." 

I have little doubt that this beam, 
as well as the other decorations of 
the roof of the Church, was brought 



LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 181 

from Llan Egwest, which it will be 
recollected was dedicated to the 
Virgin Mary. 

There is a beautiful half-length 
of our Saviour in the window over 
the altar, painted upon glass by 
Eginton, of Birmingham, with this 
inscription under it: — 

" Nid fy Ewyllys i ond yr eiddo ti a wneler." 
S. Luc pen 22 ver 42. 

" Not my will, but thine be done." 

I believe there are no other Welch 
inscriptions in the Church, among 
the many grave stones, tablets, &c. 
which abound; and yet service is 
performed in no other language, 
except on the second sabbath in 
every month, and on Good Friday. 
There are many English families 
now resident in Llangollen and its 
neighbourhood; and to those that 



182 LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 

are seriously disposed this is a 
great privation. 

The Church is well served by the 
very worthy and pious Vicar, who 
resides at the Vicarage; yet, not- 
withstanding, there are four dissent- 
ing congregations in the town, viz. 
Wesleyan Methodists, Whitfield or 
Calvinistic Methodists, Indepen- 
dents, and Baptists. 

In the church-yard is a school, 
under which is a vestry-room, 
bearing this inscription : — " This 
school -house was built at the ex- 
pense of the parishioners, having 
obtained the ordinary license, with 
consent of the Rev. R. Price, vicar, 
1773." 

The customs of the orthodox 
Welch Church are similar to those 



LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 183 

in England, except in the following, 
viz. that of bedecking the graves of 
the dead with shrubs and flowers; 
of singing before the corpse to the 
church; and the very annoying 
one of ringing a passing bell in the 
following manner: — On the day 
prior to the funeral the bells are 
tolled in a very quick succession of 
strokes; that is to say, twelve quick 
strokes on the first bell, and after a 
short pause, twelve on the second; 
and so on once round, the number of 
strokes on each bell, denoting the 
condition of the deceased. Thus, 
twelve strokes on each bell denote 
the death of a married master of a 
family; eleven strokes the mother or 
mistress of a family ; ten strokes an 
unmarried or young man; nine a 
young woman unmarried ; six a boy ; 
and five a girl. Then begins an 
incessant monotonous toll of the 



184 LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 

great bell, in minute time, which 
generally continues all that day until 
eight o'clock at night : it commences 
again at eight o'clock on the follow- 
ing morning, and does not cease until 
eight o'clock at night, except during 
the time of interment. The visage 
at the burial is also novel to an 
English observer. When the service 
in the church is concluded, the offi- 
ciating minister goes to the steps of 
the altar, whereon a sort of wooden 
plate is previously placed; and the 
attendants and friends of the de- 
ceased immediately proceed to 
deposit money thereon in his pre- 
sence, which is instead of dues. 
When the corpse is consigned to the 
earth,the clerk receives the donations 
of the people that are around the 
grave, upon the spade with which 
he is throwing the earth upon the 
coffin; and this is his share of the fees. 



LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 185 

There is also an old and curious 
custom observed at Christmas, called 
Plygan, or Pylgain, that is, " the 
time of night when the cock croweth ; 
the morning twilight." — On the 
morning of Christmas Day, the bells 
are rung as is usual to assemble to 
church, about four o'clock; and on 
their ringing about six o'clock, most 
of the parishioners assemble, some 
bringing candles, and the church is 
also lighted up. After the prayers 
(morning service for the day) are 
read, the congregation continue, and 
the minister also, hearing original 
carols in the Welch language, on 
our Saviour's nativity. This time 
and custom were formerly much 
more seriously observed, when men 
believed 



u That ever 'gainst that season comes 
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, 
The bird of dawning singeth all night long; 
And then they say no spirit walks abroad ; 



186 LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 

The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike ; 
No fairy takes, no witch hath power to charm ; 
So hallowed and so gracious is the time." 

Except two or three marble 
monuments in the Church, there are 
no other remarkable objects; but in 
the church-yard are many very neat 
and handsome freestone tombs. 
Some of those recently erected are 
in the sarcophagus form, and are 
very nicely executed. 

Nearly opposite the south door of 
the Church stands a triangular gothic 
column of freestone, surrounded by 
a light iron railing, erected over the 
grave of a highly respected domestic 
of the Right Hon. Lady E. Butler, 
and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby. The 
pillar is executed in good taste, and 
on one of the three facades are the 
following lines, doing much honour 
to the heart as well as to the head 
of the composer: — 



LLANGOLLEN CHURCH. 187 

In Memory of 

Mrs. Mary Carol, 

Deceased the 22d of November, 1809, 

This Monument is erected, 

By Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, 

Of Plas Newydd, in this Parish. 

Released from earth, and all its transient woes, 
She whose remains beneath this stone repose, 
Steadfast in faith, resign 'd her parting breath, 
LookM up with Christian zeal, and smiled in death ; 
Patient, industrious, faithful, gen'rous, kind, 
Her conduct left the proudest far behind ; 
Her virtues dignified her humble birth, 
And raised her mind beyond this sordid earth. 
Attachment, sacred bond of grateful breasts, 
Extinguish'd but with life this tomb attests, 
Rear'd by two friends, who will her loss bemoan, 
Till with her ashes here shall rest their own. 



The poor of Llangollen have 
much reason to pray that period 
may be far distant; for the benevo- 
lence of these retired ladies is ex- 
tensive and discriminate; and it 
may justly be said there is not a 
poor deserving object in this little 
town, who does not participate in 
their bounty. I shall conclude with 
a brief notice of their residence. 



pjujs &tto$tto< 



"'Tis pleasant through the loopholes of retreat 
To peep at the great world — to see the stir 
Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd." 



Plas Newydd, situated at the east 
end of the town of Llangollen, has 
long been the residence of two 
eminently distinguished ladies, the 
Right Hon. Lady Eleanor Butler 
and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby, who 
came to Llangollen, and after a time 
purchased the domain, and planted 
and decorated the grounds. It has 
attained its present beauty under 
their own superintendance. 

Many years have elapsed since 
these ladies withdrew from the 
world, to which, from their rank and 



PLAS NEWYDD. 189 

accomplishments, they would have 
been distinguished ornaments, and 
secluded themselves in this beautiful 
retreat, where they have uniformly 
been the benefactresses of the poor, 
the encouragers of the industrious, 
and the friends of all in their neigh- 
bourhood. The peculiar taste and 
beauty with which these noble and 
highly distinguished ladies have 
decorated and adorned both the 
exterior and the interior of their 
far-famed retreat, excites universal 
admiration from the first characters 
and families, who are continually 
visiting them. 

A palisade, ornamented with an- 
tique and grotesque figures, carved 
in oak, encloses the front, before 
which a profusion of the choicest 
flowers and shrubs is tastefully 
arranged. The entrance and the 



190 PLAS NEWYDD. 

windows, which are formed after 
the manner of ancient religious 
houses, are decorated with carving 
in the same material. The en- 
trance-door is unique, and a great 
curiosity, being beautifully orna- 
mented with well polished carved 
figures; the whole of which are 
of black oak, and kept particularly 
bright, giving the retreat a very 
uncommon appearance. The en- 
trance-hall, stairs, and passages, are 
chastely in character; and the win- 
dows are ornamented with painted 
glass in the most appropriate man- 
ner. 

The gardens, in which nature and 
art are judiciously united, are ex- 
tensive, and display much taste. 
The thick and umbrageous foliage of 
the lofty forest trees, that occupy a 
part of the lawn and gardens, is 



PLAS NEWYDD. 191 

the safe asylum of numerous birds, 
which in this calm seclusion revel 
unmolested. A pair of beautiful 
wood- owls have found a safe and 
quiet shelter in the trunk of an old 
ivy- covered tree; and on a lawn a 
little further, is erected a pretty 
moss- covered alcove, furnished with 
a few well- selected books: it is 
nearly in the centre of the garden, 
and is open in front. The confidence 
of the birds is shown by some of 
them every year building their nests 
in this recess: indeed, these airy 
inhabitants appear to be quite tame 
and familiarized by the kindness of 
their amiable protectors. I believe 
the birds have much the larger 
portion of the produce of these 
beautiful gardens, as none of them 
are suffered to be molested. 

Through the lower part of the 



192 PLAS NEWYDD. 

shrubbery, a brook, called Cyflymen, 
i.e. Speedy, murmurs o'er its pebbly 
bed, and is crossed by a rustic 
bridge, which leads to a bank covered 
with lichens, and furnished with 
appropriate seats, near which rises a 
pure fountain, whose waters are as 
clear as the crystal glasses which 
ornament its margin: in short, the 
beauty of the scenery, aided by a 
little enthusiam, might inspire the 
idea that 



u Here in cool grot and mossy cell, 
The rural fays and fairies dwell: 
Though rarely seen by mortal eye, 
When the pale moon, ascending high, 
Darts through yon limes her quiv'ring beams, 
They frisk it near these crystal streams." 



The carved stone brought from 
the Abbey Cruris, and mentioned as 
being dug up at the time the bodies 
were discovered, stands near the 
entrance. 



CONCLUSION. 193 

I have thus completed the circuit 
I proposed at the commencement of 
my labours. To hope the attainment 
of perfection in a work of this nature 
■would with justice be deemed 
presumptuous; but 1 trust any 
inaccuracy will be treated with 
lenity, and that due allowance will 
be made for the disadvantage under 
which verbal information is at all 
times collected by a person who 
does not understand the native 
language. Thus far I can with truth 
say, that, from a desire to combine 
correctness with intelligence, I have 
in no <:ase given that on hearsay, 
which might be readily ascertained 
by ocular demonstration. 

With regard to the quotations 
which I have thought proper to in- 
troduce, I must here again draw 

K 



194 CONCLUSION. 

upon the kind indulgence of my 
readers. Not having an extensive 
library at my command, I have 
sometimes been obliged to quote 
from memory. This will also, in 
some degree, account for omissions 
of which I may in places be deemed 
guilty. 

I will now take leave of my 
friends, assuring them that, if I have 
not done all I might for their infor- 
mation and amusement, it must be 
attributed to any other cause rather 
than a want of desire and endeavour 
on my part. It would, indeed, be 
unpardonable in me to deserve 
such an imputation, after having 
received so many marks of attention 
from friends whom I have had occa- 
sion more than once to consult in 
the progress of my researches, and 



CONCLUSION. 195 

being furnished with information 
from quarters where I had not the 
least claim. 



AUTHORITIES 

REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK. 



The Brut, or Chronicle of the Kings of Britain, contained 
in Collectanea Cambrica,vo\. 1, by the Rev. P. Roberts, 
A.M. This title was taken from the Book of Basing- 
werke Abbey; which work the learned author has 
translated and collated with Brut Tyssillio, the Welch 
copy of the Chronicle Grvffudd ab Authur ; Collations 
of the Brut in the Archialogy ; Geoffrey of Monmouth's 
Translation of the Brut ; the Wynnstay MS. and the 
M.S. Chronicle of Mr. Jones, of Gelly Lyfde. These 
books are supposed by Mr. Roberts to contain the 
genuine epistle of Gildas, published A.D, 560. 

Camden* s Britannia, Philemon Holland's translation, 
A.D. 1610. 

Caradoe of Lhancarvan's History of Wales, first published 
A.D. 1150, translated by Dr. Powel, and augmented 
and improved by the Rev. W. Wynne, A.M. from 
whose octavo edition, published A.D. 1697, the quota- 
tions are made. 

K 2 



196 AUTHORITIES. 

History of Wales, by the Rev. William Warrington, 
quarto edition. 

Pennant's Tour in Wales, two vols, quarto, 1784. 

Report to the General Assembly of the Ellesmere Canal 
Proprietors. 

The English Baronets, three vols. A. D. 1727. 

Caikbrian Itinerary, tyc. 



LIST 



SUBSCRIBERS. 



& 

A V ONMORE, Lord Viscount, four copies 
Adams, Mr. George, Ruthin 
Allen, Joshua, Esq. Wenffrwd 
Andrews, Mr. Wrexham 

Androse, Miss 

M. 

Butler, the Right Hon. Lady Eleanor, and 

Miss Ponsonby, twelve copies 
Besborough, the Earl of 
Babbington, Miss, Oswestry, two copies 
Babbington, Mr. Thomas, Oswestry 
Bains, the Rev. E. A.M. Llanderfel 
Barlow, Mr. Thomas, Oswestry 
Bickerton, Mr. William, Oswestry 
Bill, Mr. Richard, Oswestry 
Bland, John T. Esq. Ireland, two copies 
Bowen, Mr. John, Dinbryn 



198 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Boycot, Miss, London, three copies 
Bradshaw, Miss 

Bradshaw, Mr. George, jun. Oswestry 
Brelisford, Mr. John, Llangollen 
Bridgman, Captain, R.N. Knocking 
Bridden, Mr. William, Chirk 
Burbidge, Mr. John, Llangollen 
Butterys, Miss, Chirk 

Carbery, Lord, three copies 
Cartwright, Mr. John, Shrewsbury 
Chambey, Mr. Robert, British Iron Co. 
Clarke, Mr. Francis, Corwen 
Cooper, Mr. George, Oswestry 
Coward, Mr. John, Llangollen 

Dungannon, Lord Viscount, ten copies 
Duncannon, Viscountess 
Davies, the Rev. I. M. Chester 
Davies, Mr. David, Ruabon 
Davies, Mr. Edward, Chirk 
Davies, Mr. Edward, Oswestry 
Davies, Mr. Edward, Llangollen 
Davies, Mr. William, Plas Issa 
Dickens, John, Esq. New Hall, two copies 
Dicken, Mr. J. Cefnwern 
Dicken, Mr. Halton 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 199 

Edwards, Mrs. Llangollen 

Edwards, Mr. Edward, Pengwern Hall, two 

copies 
Edwards, Mr. Edward, solicitor, Wrexham, 

two copies 
Edwards, Mr. William, Llanrwst 
Edwards, Mr. Richard, Liverpool 
Edwards, Mr. David, Oswestry 
Edwards, Mr. J. bookseller, Oswestry, three 

copies 
Edwards, Mr. Edward, Pontcysyllte 
Edwards, Edward, Esq. Oswestry 
Edwards, Mr. Robert, Rhisgog 
Edwards, Mr. John, surgeon, Oswestry 
Evan, Mr. William, Liverpool, two copies 
Evans, Mr. Chester, six copies 
Evans, Mr. Robert, Llangollen 
Evans, Mr. John, Llangollen, three copies 
Evans, Mr. Edward, Bryn Howell 
Evans, Mr. Edward, Dinbryn 
Evans, Mr. David, Pentre 

Farewell, Mrs. Chirk Castle 
Foulkes, Mrs. Eliza, Oswestry 
Foulkes, Mr. Chirk 

<&♦ 

Gardiner, Mr. James, Llangollen, four copies 



200 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Gething, Mr. Zopher 

Gisborne, Mr. W. Hartley, Manchester, jfoe 

copies 
Glover, Mr. John, Royton 
Godfrey, Mr. Englefield Green 
Griffiths, the Rev. T. A.M. Llangollen 

m* 

Hutchinson, Lady 

Hales, Mr. Oswestry 

Harrison, Major, Llantysilio Hall, two copies 

Harrison, Captain, Rhyd y Murn 

Haycock, Mr. E. Priory, Shrewsbury 

Hey ward, Mrs. Richard, London, three copies 

Howell, Mr. Samuel, Chirk 

Hughes, the Rev. D. A.M. 

Hughes, Mr. Deputy Registrar of Bangor 

Hughes, Mr. Edward, Pentre Felen 

Hughes, Mr. John, Llangollen 

Hughes, Mr. John, jun. London 

Hughes, Mr. Henry, Oswestry 

Hughes, Mr. Hugh, Halton 

Humphries, Mr. John, Wrexham 

J- 

Jackson, Mr. Grove House, Wrexham, two 

copies 
Jackson, Mrs. Oswestry 
Jebb, R. Esq. Chirk, two copies 
Johnson, Mr. Hand Inn, Chirk 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 201 

Jones, Hugh, Esq. London, six copies 

Jones, Richard, Esq. Binbryn Hall 

Jones, Lewis, Esq. Oswestry 

Jones, John, Esq. Oswestry 

Jones, Mr. Robert, solicitor, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. Richard, post-master, Llangollen 

Jones, the Rev. Mr. Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. Hugh, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. David, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. John, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. John Maesmor, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. Thomas, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. watchmaker, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. William, Chirk 

Jones, Master W. Vestris 

Jones, Master Robert Albion 

Jones, Mr. John, Oswestry 

Jones, Mr. Edward, Wern Issaf 

Jones, the Rev. J. Ruabon 

Jones, Mr. Evan, New House 

Jones, Mr. Richard, Dolgelly 

Jones, Mr. John, Red Lion, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. John, Glyndyfrdwy 

Jones, Mr. John, Llangollen 

Jones, Mr. William, Trevor 

Jones, Mr. Edward, Llangollen 

It. 

Kenyon, the Hon. Thomas 



202 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Kendrick, Mr. John, Gobowen 
Knight, Mr. James, Oswestry 

3L 

Lethbridge, Lieut.-Gen. Shrewsbury, two 

copies 
Lloyd, Godfrey, Esq. Llangollen Fechan, two 

copies 
Laing, Mr. Oswestry, Jive copies 
Lever, Mr. Chirk 
Lewis, Mr. Thomas, Brook House 
Lloyd, Richard, Esq. Rhagatt, two copies 
Lloyd, Mr. R. King's Head Hotel, Llangollen, 

two copies 
Lloyd, Mr. Thomas, Chirk Green 
Lloyd, Mr. William, Chirk 
Lolly, Miss 

Lucas, Mr. Francis, Oswestry 
Lucas, Mr. James, Staffordshire 

IB. 

Martindale, Mr. Nicholas, Liverpool 

Mason, Mr. Liverpool 

Maxwell, Major 

Maxwell, Mrs. Major 

Maxwell, Miss 

Maxwell, Miss Eliza G. 

Maxwell, Miss Anna Maria Sophia 

M'Nure, Mr. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 203 

Minshall, Mr. W. Llanddyn Hall 
Morris, Mr. Edward, Rhisgog, two copies 
Morris, Mr. Charles, Wrexham 
Morris, Mr. David, Chirk 
Morgan, Mr. Thomas, Llangollen 
Moxon, Mr. John, Manchester 

wr. 

Newcome, the Rev. Richard, Warden of 

Ruthin 
Nicholas, Mr. W. Pentre Hobbin 
Noel, Mrs. Edward, four copies 

#♦ 

Ormonde, the Marquess of 

Ormonde, the Marchioness of 

Ossory, the Earl of 

Ormonde and Ossory, the Countess of 

Owen, Mr. surgeon, Llangollen, four copies 

Owen, Mr. G. D. wine merchant, Oswestry, 

two copies 
Owen, Mr. William, Chirk 
Owen, Mr. Edward, Halton 



Ponsonby, the Right Hon. Lady Barbara 
Parry, Mr. Evan, Llangollen 
Parry, Mr. Richard, Pontcysyllte 
Parry, Mr. John, Trevor, two copies 



204 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Perry, S. Esq. London 

Peters, Miss, Glyn Allyn 

Phillips, Mr. Joseph, Hand Hotel, Llangollen, 

four copies 
Pierce, Mr. Wolverhampton 
Povis, Mr. London 
Povey, Mr. Penvin y Pandy 
Powell, Mr. Richard, Oswestry 
Powell, Mr. Thomas, St. Martin's 
Powell, John Richard, Esq. Presgwern 
Price, Mr. Edward, Llangollen 
Price, Mr. William, Oswestry 
Price, Dr. Llangollen, three copies 
Pugh, Mr. Eagles, Llangollen 

u. 

Richards, Mr. Mardol, Shrewsbury 

Richards, Mr. S. Chirk 

Richardson, Mrs. Manchester 

Roberts, Mr. Peter, Oswestry 

Roberts, Miss Harriet, Chirk 

Roberts, Mr. land-surveyor, Wern Lodge, 

two copies 
Roberts, Mr. Factory, Llangollen, two copies 
Roberts, Mr. confectioner, Oswestry 
Roberts, Mr. Samuel, Oswestry 
Roberts, Mr. John, Llangollen 
Rodgers, Mr. Thomas, Oswestry 
Royd, Miss, Bath 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 205 

& 

Stackpole, William Wentworth, Esq. six 

copies 
Stewart, the Hon. Mrs. Killyman Castle, 

Ireland 
Savage, John, M.D. 
Scoltock, Mr. Shrews bury, four copies 
Shebbeare, Capt. R.N. Cottage, Llangollen, 

two copies 
Sniffer, Mr. Thomas, Denbigh 
Simpson, Mr. T. Wolverhampton, twelve copies 
Smale, Mr. Oswestry, two copies 
Smith, Mrs. Maria, Chirk 
Smith, Mr. Thomas, Chirk 
Spencer, Charles, Esq. Worcester, two copies 
Stanton, Mr. Robert, Oswestry 

Taylor, the Hon. General 

Talwrn, Mr. 

Taylor, Mrs. Isaac, Shiffnal 

Thomas, Mr. David, Oswestry 

Thompson, Mr. excise officer, Wrexham 

Thompstone, Mr. S. Manchester, two copies 

Titley, Mr. Chester 

Tomkies, Mr. T. Oswestry 

Tompkins, Mr. Lion Inn, Shrewsbury, tivo 

copies 
Tompkins, Mrs. Edmund, Shrewsbury 



206 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Valentine and Throsby, Walsall, six copies 
Vaughan, Mr. surgeon, Chirk 

m. 

Wynn, Sir Watkyn Williams, Bart, ten copies 

Ward, T. E. Esq. Cefnwern, two copies 

Warrington, the Misses, Wrexham 

Warter, Thomas, Esq. Llangollen 

Warter, Mrs. sen. 

Whitehurst, the Rev. E. A.B. Chirk 

Whitehurst, Miss, Chirk 

Wift, Mr. Thomas, Chirk 

Williams, 1. C. Esq. Chirk 

Williams, Mr. Owen, Tyddn Ucha 

Williams, Mr. Glyndyfrdwy, two copies 

Williams, Mr. Thomas, Wrexham 

Williams, Mr. Edward, Wrexham 

Wood, Mrs. Birmingham 

Woodcock, Mr. G. Hinckley 

Wright, Mr. William 

Wynn, Master Jones Lloyd, Dolfawr 



Printed bv T. and W. Wood, Birmingham. 



LATELY PUBLISHED, 

IN OCTAVO, 
PRICE SEVEN SHILLINGS AND SIX PENCE, EXTRA BOARDS. 



HERBAN, 
3 poentt 

IX FOUR CANTOS. 



I sing UHvronted. 

Seribimas indocti doctique poemata passim. 



Anon. 
Hor. 



LONDON: 

G. B. WHITTAKER, AVE MARIA LANE; 

AND SOLD BY ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. 



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